Compensation to former wood processing workers in five semi-annual installments

The Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry will be given an extension until April 1st of next year to issue decisions on determining the right to compensation of 12 thousand euros for former workers of state-owned forestry and wood processing companies who lost their jobs due to bankruptcy and liquidation, while this compensation would be paid in the next five equal semi-annual installments.

This is stated in the amendment submitted to the Parliament by MPs Dane Marković from Europe Now, Amer Smailović from the Bosniak Party and Nikola Rovčanin from the Democratic Montenegro, to the Law on the Exercise of the Right to Financial Support for Persons Employed in the Wood Processing and Forestry Industry Sector.

The current version of the law stated that the Ministry must issue decisions within 30 days of the submission date, and that the payment of compensation would be made in the period from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

The submission of applications lasted from July 1 to October 30. The explanation states that a large number of applications were submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and that they were unable to process them within 30 days, and that the Ministry of Finance was therefore unable to estimate the possible cost that would be included in the budget for the following year.

Vijesti previously reported that over nine thousand requests were submitted within the deadline and that the compensation payment could amount to up to 110 million euros.

Because the Ministry of Agriculture was unable to respond to the requests within 30 days, lawsuits were filed against the state for failing to resolve the requests in a timely manner.