Trade unions called on the Government to initiate activities to conclude a new General Collective Agreement without further delay.

The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (USSCG) and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Montenegro (SSCG) have called on the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Dialogue and the Government of Montenegro to initiate activities to conclude a new General Collective Agreement (GCA) without further delay.

In a letter sent to the relevant Minister Naida Nišić, the unions demand that the Working Group for the drafting of the new General Collective Agreement meet by the end of August at the latest, in order to begin final negotiations and the conclusion of the new General Collective Agreement in early September.

"At the last meetings of the Working Group for the development of the new OKU, the Government took the position that it accepts the job complexity coefficients that the social partners agreed on back in December, with the request that the new value of the coefficient be discussed after considering the effects of the tourist season. The unions believe that all conditions have been met in the meantime for the negotiations to continue and conclude. According to official data, the tourist season is achieving positive results, while six-month indicators indicate that the budget is filling up above the planned level. At the same time, the latest Eurostat data show that Montenegro has reached and surpassed certain countries in the region in terms of the minimum wage, despite the fact that their employers are obliged to pay health and pension and disability insurance at the expense of the employer. In addition to all of the above, employees have been faced with the consequences of inflation and a significant increase in the cost of living for years," the letter reads.

They remind that the unions had a prepared version of the new OKU at the end of December last year, which the Government did not accept at the time, with the explanation that it would offer a higher quality version.

"However, that version has not been submitted to date, while the dialogue on the new General Collective Agreement has practically died down. The General Collective Agreement has not been in effect since April 30 of this year. To date, no concrete activities have been undertaken that would lead to its conclusion. At the same time, there is an increasing lack of respect for the fundamental rights of employees that were guaranteed by the General Collective Agreement. The General Collective Agreement is one of the key mechanisms for protecting employee rights and regulating relations in the labor market. Therefore, the unions expect the Government of Montenegro to show responsibility and readiness for a concrete agreement, and to schedule a meeting of the Working Group without further delay in order to create the conditions for concluding a new General Collective Agreement with an increased Calculation Value of the Coefficient in early September," the statement reads.