The nominal growth of wages, pensions and social benefits over the past six years has been significantly devalued by inflation. The average working family is unable to pay the ever-increasing rent for an apartment, while buying an apartment is science fiction for most. Statistics show that for a union consumer basket, two average wages or three and a half minimum wages, as well as four average pensions, are needed.
The shortage of labor on the market has meant that employers can no longer blackmail workers by firing them if they do not accept poor working conditions, such as low wages, minimum wage insurance, payment of part of their "paycheck in hand", unpaid overtime, weekend work, etc. Montenegrin unions state that such bad practices from previous years have decreased, but that they still exist.
Trade union representatives stated in a survey by "Vijesti" that they are dissatisfied with social dialogue, that many decisions are still made without consultation, that there is discrimination in employment in public administration on party, political, religious and national grounds, that the occupational safety system is not developed, which is why ten workers have lost their lives in the workplace since the beginning of last year, that there are no trade unions or collective agreements in most of the private sector, that there is no trade union activity in the largest employment sector, trade with 40 thousand workers...
Even two salaries are not enough to live on.
Ivana Mihajlovic from the Union of Free Trade Unions states that even two salaries in a family do not allow for a dignified life.
"The increasingly difficult task of establishing a balance between work and private life is perhaps the most important issue that social partners and decision-makers must find answers to today. Overtime, so-called flexible working hours, the necessity for a significant number of employees to work additional jobs in order to meet basic life needs, the digitalization of the work process, in addition to the need for most employers to make extra profit at the expense of employees, are just some of the reasons that are erasing this thin line between work and private life. Such a situation has far-reaching consequences not only for the employees themselves but for society as a whole, since employees are exposed to constant stress, which is a prerequisite for illness, while on the other hand, the lack of this balance leads to the neglect of the greatest values, such as family, friends, and the cultural and social dimension. It seems that employers and decision-makers are not concerned about this trend. And today, the most important date for the world of work, reminds us of the struggle waged almost 140 years ago when workers, both male and female, fought uncompromisingly, with great sacrifices, to achieve the so-called 'three eights'," said Mihajlović.
Political discrimination in employment
She also points out that there is a growing gap in earnings between women and men, which has reached an infamous 21,6% in favor of men.
"Discrimination in the employment and promotion process is ubiquitous and a perennial problem of the labor market, since party and political, religious or national affiliation, especially when employed in the public sector, take precedence over professional qualifications, education and the quality of the individual. Insecure jobs, an army of citizens, some of whom have been engaged for decades under precarious employment contracts such as service contracts and/or contracts for temporary and occasional jobs, especially in state bodies where the state appears in the role of employer, and the lack of interest of decision-makers to dedicate themselves to solving this problem, which the USS has continuously pointed out since 2015, are the reason why even on this year's Labor Day it cannot be said that working conditions in Montenegro are dignified, humane and fair. Ten fatal workplace injuries from last year to today are an indication that caring for safe and secure workplaces has not been the focus of public policies and those employers who view investment in occupational health and safety measures as a cost, not an investment," she stated. is Mihajlovic.
Inflation ate up wage growth
General Secretary of the Union of Trade Unions Dusko Zarubica He said that despite certain progress, workers' problems are still numerous and constant.
"Workers definitely deserve better protection and a greater scope of rights, higher wages, undeniably better social and health care, better working conditions and occupational safety, but also more responsible and fairer relations between employers, respect and enforcement of laws, collective agreements, in short, a more dignified life and work. Very common problems of employees continue to be non-payment of contributions for mandatory social insurance, non-payment of salary increases for overtime work, night work, work during state and religious holidays, etc. However, wages are not the only cause of dissatisfaction. Employee wages have experienced significant growth, but at the same time, there has been a growth in the inflation rate, growth in the consumer basket, growth in apartment rents, growth in apartment prices, etc., all of which has had the effect of nullifying the effect of salary increases. At this point, we can say that this is a systemic problem, and not a problem exclusively between the employer and employees and the issue of exercising rights from and based on work," said Zarubica.
President of the Trade Union of Administration and Justice Nenad Rakočević He told "Vijesti" that the biggest problems of workers are still primarily of a material nature.
"Regardless of the implementation of the Europe 1 and 2 programs in terms of increasing wages, wages that are the initial motive for any type of work or employment are unacceptably low, and the main cause of wage devaluation is the years-long galloping inflation and unstoppable price growth. The real sector is much more generous in terms of wages and rewards compared to the public sector, a priori due to the deficit and the large outflow of labor and experts to foreign destinations that value work in the right way. Also, quantity compared to quality from the perspective of state institutions and companies has, due to political motives and interests, or employment, rendered the work of the entire state system meaningless and degraded. Suitable unskilled personnel with dubious education are installed in management positions, and thus the reputation and integrity of state institutions has been devalued for a long period, with respect for exceptions that are positive examples," Rakočević stated.
Poor social dialogue a key problem
Representatives of all three unions indicate that the low culture of social dialogue is one of the key problems facing the trade union movement in Montenegro.
"The absence of social dialogue means a decreasing number of concluded collective agreements as a kind of mechanism that should contribute to building trust and social peace between employers and employees. Only five signed sectoral collective agreements in the field of economy and a small number of collective agreements with employers in the private sector speak in favor of the above. The above is particularly supported by the fact that employees in the most profitable sector in Montenegro, such as the banking sector, do not have a concluded sectoral collective agreement. The same applies to employees in the media, trade, wood and chemical industries, but also in other sectors. Anti-union discrimination remains ubiquitous, and union activists are exposed to pressure, attacks, threats, and often dismissals due to their union work and activities," said Mihajlović, stating that strengthening unity, solidarity and increasing the rate of union organization are key to the successful struggle of the working class.
Zarubica states that joining unions is crucial for employees, because they are the ones who negotiate and conclude collective agreements, which is the basis for improving the position of employees.
"However, after so many years, we still have problems with respecting the ILO Convention on Freedom of Association, which is most explicitly manifested in the private sector. I would like to point out that in the trade sector, where we have more than 40.000 employees, we still do not have a representative branch union, which in itself indicates that awareness of social dialogue, trade union and labor rights is still at a level that we thought would be overcome a long time ago, especially if we take into account all the social, economic and political changes, and especially our orientation towards the EU and the adoption of European standards," said Zarubica.
Rakočević also states that the main problem in public administration is poor quality social dialogue or its complete absence.
"Believing that certain political changes will finally eliminate the presence of autocracy and arbitrariness at all levels, we are witnesses to daily violations of our positive legal legislation, primarily the social rights of workers. We are welcoming this year's Labor Day without any enthusiasm. It seems that it was pointless to hope that the authorities would meet the demands of workers or the demands of unions, because it has been shown that they are ready to seize the assets of all citizens of Montenegro in the most brutal and incredible way, and then what should we expect, the demands and rights of workers are completely irrelevant to them," Rakočević said.
Strengthen awareness of the importance of trade unionism
The Confederation of Trade Unions states that in addition to regular activities and participation in the drafting of laws and bylaws, this year it will significantly intensify membership education, which it will conduct in cooperation with international partners.
"Raising awareness among young members, or rather educating them on various issues of interest to both unions and employees, is crucial because we are aware that without a strong, educated union membership ready for negotiations, we cannot expect to achieve significant results and goals," said Zarubica.
Rakočević said that in the coming period, he will focus his activities on strengthening the awareness of public administration and judicial employees, that is, all citizens and workers, that they must activate themselves.
"Only through personal commitment and contribution can one improve one's working and material status, at the expense of general political madness and their clearly provisional interests. Our plans are also aimed at putting pressure on those in power at all levels, so that the principle of legal responsibility towards all those who think that Montenegro is their property and that they can exhaust all kinds of state resources in the direction of political and personal interests, and against the interests of workers and citizens, will finally begin to function," said Rakočević.
The Union of Free Trade Unions states that at the beginning of this year they managed to fight for the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Labor Fund, which will also compensate employees whose employer ceased to exist and did not pay contributions for pension and disability insurance, and that their ten-year initiative on the necessity of improving occupational medicine has finally been put on the agenda.
"In the coming period, we will continue an even stronger campaign to implement the USS congressional resolutions on the necessity of housing policy reform and the preservation of economic entities of national interest, namely by collecting signatures for the submission of the Proposal for calling a state referendum, sending a message to decision-makers that citizens will have the final say on these topics, since their political will is persistently absent. In the context of current events in Montenegro, the campaigns 'Not everything is for sale!' and 'Social housing for a peaceful sleep' gain additional value and importance," said Mihajlović.
She also announced the intensification of the trade union struggle to grant the right to strike to all those who are currently denied it by employers and state authorities, to establish labor courts, to shorten working hours, protect the environment, humanize work and working conditions, and to reform the electoral system with the aim of introducing open lists.
On May 1, 1886, large workers' demonstrations were held in Chicago, demanding an eight-hour workday and better working conditions, the so-called right to three eights - eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep, and eight hours of rest and free activities. The police were in the service of capital and bloodily suppressed the protests, killing six and wounding over 50 workers. The leaders of the strike were brought before a sham trial - five were sentenced to death by hanging, and three to long prison terms. At the congress of the Second International in 1889, May 1 was declared International Workers' Solidarity Day
Insufficient progress, family needs 2.000 euros for basic needs
When asked how he sees the socio-economic and legal position of employees in Montenegro now and five or 20 years ago, Rakočević says that even ten or twenty years ago, salaries were, as they are today, insufficient for a stable standard of living for workers.
"Salaries were low, but the costs of basic living expenses were also much lower, while today, through false populism and insulting personal intelligence, someone is trying to convince us that the increased salaries are so high that we should be eternally grateful. Never has the salary of a civil servant and employee been more worthless compared to the generally wild prices and dizzying inflation. All those former tycoon business empires are still privileged. Poltronism and impersonality are valued like never before, and an honestly toiled and sad worker has to work two jobs to provide only a minimal level of decent living for his family," said Rakočević.
Zarubica states that although there are certain developments, such as the signing of new sectoral collective agreements, increased wages, and greater participation of unions in the development of strategic documents, it cannot be said that the position of employees has significantly improved or advanced.
"The problems are still constant and unchanged. Some things have remained the same regardless of all the social, economic and political changes, but we will strive to change that," said Zarubica.
Mihajlović states that in the past few years, the socio-economic position of employees in Montenegro has been improved through the "ES 1" and "ES2" programs, the introduction of child allowances, maternity benefits, limiting VAT to some basic foodstuffs and limiting the prices of certain products. She points out that these increases did not cover all employees, that they were achieved through political decisions through increasing the minimum wage and not through changes in coefficients through collective agreements, and that part of these amounts was eaten up by inflation.
"When it comes to the 'ES2' programs, which primarily influenced the necessary increase in the minimum wage in Montenegro, it should be recalled that a significant number of employees have been deprived of a significant increase in wages and have been almost equalized to the simplest incomes for which the minimum wage is usually paid. The economic and social position of employees is further complicated by the almost daily increase in prices of basic goods and services, so it is clear that it is at risk because the cost of living is growing significantly faster than the growth of wages. Our union consumer basket shows that in the first quarter of 2025, a family of four needed 2.000 euros to meet basic needs, which speaks in favor of the fact that at least two average wages are needed to meet these needs. The fact that nearly 90.000 employees receive wages of up to 700 euros is also a clear indicator of the overall economic and social position of employees," Mihajlović stated.
Deceptive statistics about the large increase in salaries and pensions
To compare statistical data, "Vijesti" took Februarys from this year and 2019, which was the last stable year of the former government before the pandemic.
The data presented in the table shows that the average salary has increased by 95 percent, the average pension by 81 percent, and the amount of social assistance (material security) for a vulnerable family of four by 38 percent.
In the same period, the increase in food prices, according to Monstat data, was 50,2 percent.
However, not all wages increased by twofold. The minimum wage increased by 170 percent (from 222 to 600), while other wages increased by the portion of the reduction in duties, or by about 30 to 40 percent, which resulted in an average increase of 95 percent. In other words, for a significant number of employees, the increase in wages was lower or at the level of the increase in food prices.
The situation is similar with pensions. The minimum pension has been increased from 130 to 450 euros, or by about 250 percent, but other pension amounts have been increased through regular adjustments over the past six years by 52 percent, which is minimally above the increase in food prices.
Social benefits increased by 38 percent, which is significantly below the percentage increase in food prices.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić recently said at a forum at the Faculty of Economics that the number of employees in five years has not increased by 60 thousand, as statistics show, but that he is aware that due to the "Europe Now 1" measures, a large number of jobs that were in the gray zone have only been legalized. He also said at the time that their earnings were only transferred to the legal stream, that is, that they were insured for the minimum wage and that they received the remaining part in cash, and that they were later reported for the full amount.
This is also shown by official statistics, which means that the 170 percent increase in minimum wage is not accurate, because a large number of these workers previously received higher wages, but outside of official reports, so they were not included in the average.
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