If the Albanian Forum's proposal is adopted and the mandatory payment of the 13th salary for all employees in the amount of half the minimum wage and the 13th pension for all pensioners in the amount of 40 percent of the minimum pension is adopted, 77,2 million euros will be needed to pay this supplement to all employees, with another 10,3 million for taxes and contributions, and 23,1 million euros for payments to pensioners.
This is shown by the Albanian Forum's analysis of the explanatory memorandum to the draft Law on Annual Allowance for Employees and Pensioners, which they proposed to the Parliament.
Announcing the bill last week, the party's leader Nick Djelosaj, announced that it introduces an obligation for every employee in Montenegro to receive a supplement equal to half the average salary and every pensioner in Montenegro to receive half the average pension, as well as that this supplement would be completely exempt from all taxes and contributions, both state and local.
"This ensures that the full amount ends up with citizens, without any reduction and without administrative burdens," said Đeljošaj.
However, a different, "moderated" bill has arrived in parliament, which stipulates that all state employees will receive 300 euros, and pensioners 180 euros.
"Vijesti" contacted the political parties: NSD, BS, DNP, SD, URA, DPS, whether they would vote for the proposal, but none wanted to respond. PES told "Vijesti" earlier, before the law was sent to the parliamentary procedure, that they were convinced that the proposer was seeking a solution for the revenue side of the budget so that this proposal would be fiscally responsible and sustainable, after which they would take their position.
The Ministry of Finance did not respond to "Vijesti's" questions about whether this bill is sustainable and whether it will burden the state treasury.
The Albanian Forum's analysis shows that the state budget would have a total gross cost of 39,4 million euros, of which 23,1 million is for pensioners and 16,3 million for almost 48 thousand employees in the state administration. In their case, the state would bear the cost of a net amount of 300 euros, as well as 40 euros in taxes and contributions.
The state would also have an income of 10,3 million in taxes and contributions on the entire amount of the allowance for all employees, as well as tax revenue that it would receive when workers and pensioners spend this money. The Albanian Forum estimates that the state would get back 17,4 million euros from VAT when spending, or with taxes and contributions, the total state income would be 27,7 million euros. This means that the gross state cost of 39,4 million euros would be reduced to 11,7 million euros.
All employers from the private and public sectors would have a cost for taxes and contributions of 40 euros, on the employee allowance amount of 300 euros.
In the explanation of the law, the Albanian Forum explained that by proposing and adopting this law, the institute of annual allowance is introduced for all employees in the public and private sectors, as well as for all pensioners in Montenegro, with the aim of improving their financial situation in conditions of increased living costs, seasonal price increases and continuous inflation.
MEF: We are already paying for winter food
The Employers' Union told "Vijesti" that in the part concerning the intention to oblige employers, they see the bill as an unnecessary standardization of a practice that certainly already exists in the Montenegrin economy, which is reflected in the practice of employers to reward employees with certain financial or non-financial benefits at the end of the business year.
"This practice has existed for a long time, in part it is regulated by certain sectoral and individual collective agreements through the institute of winter storage, and as a rule it is conditioned by the achievement of certain business results. At the same time, there are employers who opt for paying bonuses as a form of reward to those employees who have shown the greatest dedication and achieved the best results that year, which stimulates work engagement and rewards contribution to achieving business goals," the MEF pointed out.
They reminded that, in order to promote this benefit to employees more widely, it was the MEF that initiated the change in the tax regime of this benefit (tax-free up to the amount of the minimum wage, which at that time was 450 euros).
"On the other hand, we see the intention to introduce such a practice as a universal obligation for employers, without taking into account the key aspects of the operations of a particular business system, as unnecessary, with a strong potential to unduly burden employers. In this sense, we recognize the similarity of the initiative in question with other initiatives launched by political parties, which, almost without exception, aim to bring some short-term benefit to employees and citizens, while, at least not visibly, not taking into account the justification, foundation and sustainability of these benefits," said the MEF.
As they added, it is worth noting that in this case too, it was not deemed appropriate to inform the Social Council of Montenegro about the initiative and thus respect Article 65 of the Constitution of Montenegro, or to allow representatives of employers, unions and the Government to consider this initiative in that body.
PKCG: Wait for analysis
The Chamber of Commerce said that any additional allocation that would be imposed on the economy, without a relevant analysis of the impact on the operations of business entities, represents an unforeseen burden in already complex business conditions.
"On the other hand, there is no doubt that citizens deserve a better standard of living, both retirees and employees, so these issues should be worked on daily and in partnership with institutions and all relevant economic factors."
The draft law on annual allowance (13th salary and pension) has entered the parliamentary procedure and stipulates that employees with positions up to the V level of educational qualification are entitled to an annual allowance in the amount of 50 percent of the minimum monthly net salary in Montenegro, while pensioners would receive 40 percent of the lowest monthly pension.
This bill was prepared by the Albanian Alternative and it is planned that this law will be applied for the first time for the annual allowance for the year starting in 2025.
USS supports, and recalls its proposals
The Union of Free Trade Unions (USS) welcomes all initiatives aimed at improving the socio-economic position of employees and pensioners in Montenegro if such initiatives are sustainable.
"It is for this reason that our initiatives to increase the calculation value of the coefficient are currently underway, both for public and private sector employees," the USS pointed out.
They stated that back in 2020, during the process of negotiations on the new General Collective Agreement, they advocated that employees have the right to a bonus payment in the event of positive business performance at the end of the business year, which positive business performance would be expressed through profit.
"However, there was no agreement from the employers' association and the Government for such an initiative, and no compromise was reached. The Union will continue to advocate for such a solution through social dialogue because we believe that employees in the economy, those who create the employer's profit and create new value, are the most invited to participate in the distribution of that profit. On the other hand, any measure aimed at improving the economic and social position of pensioners who built this society with their previous work and dedication, is particularly acceptable, desirable and necessary for the Union. There are numerous European countries that, either through the legislative framework or through collective agreements, recognize the payment of bonuses, Christmas bonuses, awards or similar benefits to employees in either the public or private sector. Therefore, we believe that it is high time that employees in Montenegro also exercise such a right. It is unquestionable that we would be satisfied if such a right were the result of social dialogue and the achievement of a general consensus. Also, the introduction of this benefit should necessarily be accompanied by an amendment to the Law on Personal Income Tax, in order to exempt this right from paying taxes.
Representatives of the Social Council yesterday called on MPs to withdraw all laws that directly concern employees and employers and whose direct competence is negotiations within the Social Council, from the procedure and refer these documents to the Social Council for consideration and dialogue.
Proportional employee law
According to the proposal, which "Vijesti" has access to, the right to an annual allowance is granted to employees who are employed by an employer based in Montenegro, regardless of the form of ownership and organizational form of the employer, and to pensioners who are entitled to a pension from mandatory pension and disability insurance in Montenegro.
The draft law also defines the proportional right of employees to a supplement. It implies that an employee who has worked for less than 12 months in a calendar year with a particular employer is entitled to a proportional part of the annual supplement, according to the number of months spent in employment with that employer, with a month of work longer than 15 days being counted as a full month. The time during which the employee was temporarily unable to work is also included in this time, in accordance with the regulations governing employment relations and mandatory health insurance.
An employee who works part-time is entitled to an annual allowance in proportion to the contracted working hours, unless he/she works half of the full working hours for childcare or part-time, in accordance with the regulations governing employment relations, in which case he/she is entitled to the full amount of the annual allowance. An employed person with a disability is entitled to the full amount of the annual allowance, if he/she is employed under special working conditions, in accordance with the regulation governing the employment of persons with disabilities.
"An employee who has worked for multiple employers in the same calendar year is entitled to an annual allowance from each employer in proportion to the duration of employment with that employer, in accordance with this law," the draft law states.
When it comes to paying annual bonuses to employees - the employer is obliged to pay the employee the annual bonus no later than December 31 of the current year, and in the event of temporary insolvency, the employer may postpone the payment of the annual bonus, but no later than March 31 of the following year, whereby he is obliged to pay at least 30% of the annual bonus no later than December 31 of the current year.
The annual allowance is paid in cash, to the same account to which the salary is paid.
"The annual allowance is paid to pensioners through the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, no later than December 31 of the current year. Funds for the payment of the annual allowance to pensioners are provided from the Budget of Montenegro, through the budget of the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund. Funds for the payment of the annual allowance to employees in the public sector are provided in the Budget of Montenegro, the budgets of local governments and other legal entities in accordance with the law regulating the remuneration of employees in the public sector. Funds for the payment of the annual allowance to employees in the private sector are provided from the employer's funds," the draft Law defines.
The amount of the annual allowance is considered earnings and is taxed in accordance with the regulations governing the taxation of earnings.
In the explanation of the law, the Albanian Forum explained that by proposing and adopting this law, the institute of annual allowance is introduced for all employees in the public and private sectors, as well as for all pensioners in Montenegro, with the aim of improving their financial situation in conditions of increased living costs, seasonal price increases and continuous inflation.
Slovenia also introduced a New Year's bonus for all employees
The Slovenian government recently adopted a bill on mandatory holiday pay, according to which all employees in the public and private sectors will be entitled to a Christmas bonus, which must be paid no later than December 18th.
This allowance amounts to half of the minimum gross wage, which in 2025 amounts to 639 euros, and will be non-taxable and exempt from contributions.
The controversy between PES and the Albanian Forum
The PES parliamentary group announced yesterday that it expects the draft Law on Annual Allowance to be previously agreed with the Social Council, especially since its proposer, Deputy Prime Minister Nik Đeljošaj, is a member of the Council and because this is already an established practice when drafting the Europe Now 1 and 2 programs.
"After the Deputy Prime Minister coordinates his initiative with the Social Council, and proposes and ensures the sustainability and revenue side of the planned measure, the PES parliamentary group will consider the proposal of the Deputy Prime Minister and his MP in the Parliament with special respect," PES stated.
The Albanian Forum responded that it is ready to put the initiative on the annual allowance on the agenda of the Social Council, along with the complete package of laws they have prepared for the revenue side, namely amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax, on Administrative Fees and - on Tax Administration, which introduce an obligation for large international digital platforms, through a VAT obligation and a special digital tax.
"These laws are ready for parliamentary procedure and fully cover the expenses of the annual allowance," the Albanian Forum said.
They state that they have a clear proposal for expenditures, as well as revenues.
"If the problem is who the formal proposer is, and we can solve it, we are ready for another parliamentary group to propose these laws instead of the Albanian Forum, because we do not care whose name is on the proposal, but rather that the citizens improve their standards. We also want to clearly send a message that the deputies are not anyone's property, not even Niko Djelošaj, they have their own name and surname, their own political authority and responsibility towards the citizens, and the Albanian Forum has two deputies in the Parliament," the Albanian Forum said.
The political entity said that all proposed measures are aligned with taxation practices in European Union (EU) countries, and that they represent a standard in modern tax systems.
"If at this moment there is no willingness to implement the measures in the current year, the Albanian Forum can understand this and consider their implementation during the next year, but we believe that it is responsible towards the citizens to adopt and implement them now. The Parliament of Montenegro is the only place where laws are decided, by voting for or against. We will not comment further on calling our leader by name and surname, but we note that such an approach speaks more about political maturity," the Albanian Forum said.
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