Former workers of the bankrupt company "Vektra Jakić", protesting in front of the Pljevlja Municipality building, told Prime Minister Miojko Spajić that they will organize the next gathering in front of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant and block the delivery of coal from the Potrlica open-pit mine, if he continues to ignore their demands and does not find a way to pay them back wages.
The protest of the former workers was supported by the Mayor of Pljevlja, Dario Vrnaše, as well as councilors led by the President of the Pljevlja Municipal Assembly, Jovana Tošić. They interrupted the session of the local parliament for half an hour to support the efforts of the employees to get their back wages.
The representative of the former workers, Žarko Mazalica, said that they had not received any response from Spajić, even though they had asked him to comment on the protest held at the end of last week by Wednesday.
"We have not received any response from Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. It seems that he is not interested in Pljevlja or Vektra Jakić. We have been peacefully trying to solve our problems. No one has come to our aid. We are telling Prime Minister Spajić that the next gathering will be organized in front of the Thermal Power Plant and that we will ban the import of coal from the Potrlica mine. We hope that he will come to our aid then. We have contacted the bankruptcy administrator and he said that he has nothing more to do with us and that we should contact the state," said Mazalica, who thanked the presidents of the municipality and the Municipal Assembly, as well as all councilors for their support.
Lubricant said that Brković owed the workers 15 to 20 times their salaries, and their contributions had not been paid for two to five years.
Production at the Vektra Jakić company was suspended on December 12, 2018, when employees were referred to the Labor Bureau.
The President of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, said that representatives of the government and the opposition were united in their support for former Vektra Jakić workers.
"These are our citizens. Around 160 people are left on the streets. We will try to help them as a local government, but this is an issue that must be resolved by the government. Dragan Brković's problem is a problem of the former government and we appeal to all branches of government to get involved, these are our citizens. This concerns 160 families," said Vraneš.
In a letter sent to the Government, former workers state that they duly submitted their claims to the Commercial Court for unpaid wages for the period from 2017 to December 2023, when bankruptcy was opened, within the legal deadline.
"In the period from 2017 to 2023, the previous employer Dragan Brković from Podgorica partially paid salaries, so that a number of employees have unpaid one or two salaries from 2017, a number of employees have several salaries from 2018, and so on. The largest number of employees are claiming unpaid salaries from 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Brković promised to pay the calculated salaries. Work was suspended several times for the aforementioned reasons, but work continued with the payment of partial compensation and promises that other salaries would be paid when the conditions were met. The competent institutions are the ones who are responsible for everything. The Tax Administration of Montenegro, which is obliged to take into account the legality of business operations of companies, for unknown reasons, did not take any measures against Vektra Jakić and its owner. This behavior, silence, and lack of care on the part of the competent institutions have done a great injustice to the employees of Vektra. Jakić Pljevlja. A number of employees terminated their employment, for the sake of their family's existence, and sought new employment, often outside their profession, just to survive," the letter states.
They point out that more than a year has passed since the bankruptcy was opened and they have not been informed about the ranking list of claims filed, nor do they know whether the Commercial Court has accepted them.
"The total debt based on accrued and unpaid salaries of employees amounts to 1.222.900 euros, excluding interest and court costs for those employees who have final court decisions and according to which payment has not been made. All salary calculations are in the accounting records of the bankruptcy debtor and within the final accounts, and in accordance with legal regulations, all salaries have been reported to the competent Tax Administration of Montenegro, through IOPPD forms, Regional Unit in Pljevlja. Former employees, now bankruptcy creditors, have turned to the competent institutions to meet them, understand their problems and help in solving them. Unfortunately, so far they have not met with understanding, they are left to their own devices and are forced to seek their rights and justice on the streets by blocking roads and intersections in Montenegro. For the above reasons, former employees of DOO "Vektra Jakić" Pljevlja inform the Montenegrin public, the competent court in Montenegro, all state institutions, starting from local government bodies to the Government of the Parliament of Montenegro, and in the event of "If their demands are ignored, we will be forced to seek protection from the International Court of Justice," the workers' letter to the government states.
Bonus video:
