Guild for forestry bankrupts still unknown

It is not yet known how much the state will have to pay to compensate former workers of state-owned forestry and wood processing companies who lost their jobs due to bankruptcy and liquidation. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has received and processed 7.334 requests for these payments.

The total cost to the state treasury will be known after the Ministry of Finance submits data on any previous state payments based on social programs and the declaration of technological redundancies, as well as the Labor Fund on compensation already paid to these workers.

This was told to "Vijesti" by the department. Vladimir Joković, from which they also said that they have received 16 lawsuits so far due to delays in processing requests.

"Vijesti" announced in November last year that more than nine thousand requests had been received in this process, and that the possible amount of compensation was up to 110 million euros.

In May last year, the Parliament, at the proposal of the Democratic Party MPs, adopted a law that allows workers who worked in state-owned companies in this sector, and whose employment was terminated by the introduction of bankruptcy, to be paid financial support in the net amount of 12 thousand euros. If the bankrupt received severance pay from the Labor Fund or from some other source, the amount of the new compensation will be reduced by the previously received amount. The submission of applications lasted from July 1 to October 30.

The Ministry was required to issue decisions within 30 days of submission, while payments were planned to be made from 1 January to 31 December 2026. The Ministry did not meet the deadlines due to the large number of requests, so the Ministry of Finance was not able to estimate the possible cost to the state treasury. Therefore, at the end of last year, MPs from the Europe Now Movement, the Democrats and the Bosniak Party submitted an amendment to the Law, which would allow the Ministry to process requests by April, while the benefits would be paid in five equal semi-annual installments. The amendment was adopted at the end of February.

The Ministry said that they processed all requests within the legal deadline, and that the work was extremely complex and extensive.

"7.334 requests have been received. Decisions have not yet been made, primarily due to the response we expect from the Ministry of Finance, which concerns possible payments by the state regarding social programs and the declaration of technological redundancies in former state-owned companies. At the same time, the lists that come to us from the Labor Fund are being edited due to payments of 1.920 euros to a large number of former employees, or for persons who have not received such a payment, all with the aim of deducting these funds from the amount prescribed by law of 12.000 euros. The same data is awaited from the Ministry of Finance in order to arrive at the final figure that will be needed for the payment," the Ministry emphasized.

They pointed out that for those with proper documentation, a decision could be made, but that this also requires data from the finance department. The Ministry explained that the cases were divided into those with proper documentation, that 1.133 of them need to supplement their paperwork, while in 378 cases there are reasons for rejection. They added that all cases are currently being reviewed, recorded and classified.

"Payments have not started, they will be made by the Ministry of Finance. The amendments to the law stipulate that the decisions will be delivered to the parties by July 1, 2026. So far, 16 lawsuits have been filed due to the silence of the administration, or the delay in issuing a decision before the amendment of this law. The parties have filed lawsuits due to the silence of the administration, or the failure to issue a decision within the previously established legal deadline. The Ministry has submitted a response to the filed lawsuits to the Administrative Court of Montenegro, before which the administrative dispute is currently being conducted," they pointed out.

Minister of Finance Novica Vuković said last November that the department and the government were not consulted before the Parliament passed the law on compensation for forestry bankrupts, that they still do not have a plan for how the money will be spent or how many users are entitled to payment. Vuković also appealed that all political and other proposals in the future be communicated to those who are supposed to make them, and that no projection or spending dynamics have been made, so they could not plan the fiscal effect.

Democratic lawmakers did not specify in the bill how the money would be provided, but that it would be done from the state budget for this year.

Some bankruptcies still pending

In early March, the civic movement URA submitted to the parliamentary procedure a Bill on the exercise of the right to financial support for persons employed in companies whose ownership structure was state-owned, which envisages a payment of 12.000 euros to all workers who lost their jobs due to bankruptcy and liquidation, but their proposal was rejected by the ruling majority.

In this way, former workers of the textile factories "Titex" and "Vunko", the leather factory "Polimka", the "Tobacco Combine", hotels and other former state-owned companies would also receive compensation...

The state has previously used similar measures and compensated 6.000 bankrupts in the mining and metal sector, or made it easier for them to retire when they lost their jobs due to the closure of a company or production. This was done for workers at "KAP", "Željezara", "Rudnik bauxita", "Metalac", and most recently for the bankrupts of the Cetinje factory "Košuta".