Elektroprivreda (EPCG), the Montenegrin Electric Distribution System (CEDIS) and the Post of Montenegro, companies that are majority owned by the state, received hundreds of thousands of euros this year and employed tens of people through the program of the Employment Agency (ZZZCG), which are intended primarily to support the private sector and the unemployed. This is confirmed by the documents he obtained Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
Through these programs of the Institute, local self-governments were also financed in previous years, and EPCG, CEDIS and Post did not participate in them.
These three companies received a fifth of the total of 1,4 million euros allocated for the implementation of two programs of the Institute.
Excessive employment in majority state-owned companies, especially in EPCG and CEDIS, has been in the focus of the public in recent months, since the change of management in these companies. The functions of board presidents and executive directors in EPCG and CEDIS were taken over by officials of the Democratic Front (DF) and Democratic Montenegro. And the Post of Montenegro in the distribution "by depth" also belonged to these parties. The director of ZZZCG is Goran Folić, a Democrat official.
The Minister of Capital Investments, Mladen Bojanić, recently warned about the large number of new employees in EPCG and CEDIS. At a press conference last month, he said that the number of employees in these companies is growing, while revenues are falling, and that he is not happy about that.
CEDIS and EPCG are among the five state-owned companies with the highest employee growth. According to the Report on the operations of enterprises in majority state ownership, which was prepared by the Ministry of Capital Investments (MKI), at the end of the third quarter, there were more 18 percent of employees in CEDIS, and 14 percent of employees in EPCG.
EPCG had 1.129 employees at the end of September, 135 more than in the same period last year. According to the MKI report, CEDIS had 1.591 employees at the end of September, 237 more than in the comparative period. CEDIS is owned by Elektroprivreda.
According to the business report published on the website of the Securities Commission, Posta had 1.010 employees at the end of the third quarter, 32 more than at the end of September last year.
Data on employees in three companies, however, do not include employees through this year's ZZZCG programs. It is about two programs of the Institute - the Training Program for independent work and the Training Program for work with an employer, for the implementation of which the ZZZCG allocated a total of almost 1,4 million euros. From that, EPCG, CEDIS and Pošta received a total of around 278 thousand euros. These are companies that generate high revenues and this kind of help is not necessary for them.
EPCG employed a total of 39 people through both programs. As part of the Self-Employment Training Program, the Institute allocated 24.594 euros to the state power company for the employment of ten people. On the basis of the Employer Training Program, EPCG was awarded another 71.322 euros for the employment of 29 people.
As part of the Employer Training Program, CEDIS received 120.510 euros for the employment of 49 people.
As part of the ZZZCG program, the Post received money for the employment of 25 people, that is, 61.485 euros were allocated to this state-owned company.
Sošić: It is possible that the situation is even worse
Marko Sošić, a public policy researcher at the NGO Alternative Institute, told CIN-CG that all data coming from state-owned enterprises should be taken with a grain of salt, because it is possible that they do not reflect the real situation and that the situation is much worse.
"Also, the Ministry of Capital Investments supervises only one third of all state-owned enterprises, so we do not have a complete picture of the real extent of the problem. As long as we rely on the good will of companies to give someone quarterly data, we will not be sure that we know the real situation", said Sošić.
He states that since 2016, the Ministry of Finance has an obligation to keep records of employees and their salaries in the public sector, which according to the Law on Salaries of Employees in the Public Sector includes state enterprises, but it does not do so.
Sošić warns that, at the express request of the Ministry of Finance, state-owned enterprises will be exempted from the new public administration reform strategy, and thus from all attempts to optimize or at least establish records of employees in this part of the public sector, which according to conservative estimates is more numerous than the central level of administration - with over 12 thousand employees.
"In order to bring order to the chaos in state-owned enterprises, it is necessary to systematically tackle the accumulated problems, primarily through a new legal framework for their work and the establishment of a central body responsible for conducting regulatory and supervisory policy in state-owned enterprises. "Without a new legal framework, professional management, strict supervision and reliable data, we will continue to be appalled by irrational practices and party recruitment, and in the end we will all pay for these losses," said Sošić.
They applied because they are "socially responsible companies"
CEDIS said that the only reason they applied for the Institute's competition was to provide the missing workforce by training individuals to perform certain tasks independently, bearing in mind that there is not enough workforce they need on the labor market.
"In addition, by employing persons who have been on the records of the Employment Service for a longer time, as a responsible company we contribute to reducing the unemployment rate in such a way that the unemployed who had obstacles to entering the labor market due to insufficient skills for certain jobs will, through this Train the program in CEDIS, which will increase their employability", CEDIS told CIN-CG.
Commenting on the criticism of the party's employment in that company, they say that it is incomprehensible that such a serious program is trying to be politicized, especially at a time when the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are negatively affecting the labor market and the employment rate.
They explain that they have long had a need for labor force III and IV, but the problem is the lack of well-trained labor and professional qualifications on the labor market, so part of the work is left to external contractors, which is not their goal.
"We want to implement projects, especially multimillion-dollar construction, revitalization and maintenance of the network and facilities, with employees who are part of the CEDIS family," said the company.
When asked whether CEDIS had previously applied for a competition to participate in this and similar programs of the Institute, the company replied that since its establishment on June 30, 2016, it has participated as an employer in the Professional Training Program for persons with higher education.
That program of the Institute is intended for all employers, in contrast to the Training Program for independent work and the Training Program for working with an employer.
The executive director of CEDIS since April is Vladimir Čađenović (Democrats), while the head of the board is Rajko Radošević (DF).
EPCG did not answer the questions of CIN-CG why they applied for the competition for participation in the Institute's programs and how they comment on the criticism that it is a question of party recruitment.
The new EPCG board of directors was elected in March, and it is headed by DF official Milutin Đukanović, while Nikola Rovčanin (Democrats) was elected as the executive director.
The Post told CIN-CG that they are participating in the Institute's program for the first time and that it is, above all, a socially responsible decision.
"Additional motivation to participate in the Employer Training Program is our real need to engage the workforce. The COVID epidemic caused the absence of our employees, especially postmen and counter clerks who are in daily contact with a large number of people", said the Post, whose executive director is Dragan Tufegdžić (Democrat).
They said that the Institute approved funds in the amount of two-thirds of the salary for 25 employees who will be included in the Program on the territory of Montenegro.
"The Post Office will pay their wages up to the amount stipulated in our Collective Agreement, the Rulebook on the internal organization and systematization of Post Office workplaces and the Labor Law," said the company.
They emphasize that ZZZCG predicted that this program would last six months, and that the Post decided that it would be nine months for its employees.
"Therefore, the earnings of the employees for the last three months of employment will be paid in full by the Post," said the company.
A fifth of the employees through the program went to three companies
A total of 560 people are employed in Montenegro on a fixed-term basis within the framework of the two ZZZCG programs, of which 113 are employed in these three state-owned enterprises.
It is explained on the Institute's website that the goals of these programs are to increase the employment and employability of program participants.
"The executor of the program is an employer, primarily from the private sector who has adequate spatial, technical-technological, personnel and financial conditions necessary for the implementation of the program", it is stated on the Institute's website.
The Institute, however, told CIN-CG that no priority was given to employers from the private sector.
"In the implementation of the training program, priority was not given to employers from the private sector, nor was belonging to either the public or private sector decisive for the selection of employers for the implementation of the training program," said the Institute.
The institute has been implementing these two programs since 2019, and the money for employment is approved predominantly to the private sector and non-governmental organizations to help people with disabilities (PWD), developmentally disabled, then young people...
Of the state-owned enterprises, Monteput and Montecargo, as well as a number of local enterprises and public institutions, participated in the programs in previous years.
Due to state aid, Chapter 8 was last opened
The Institute, as explained in the tenders for these two programs, allocates funds as state aid of small value, the so-called de minimis aid.
Montenegro, as a candidate country for joining the European Union (EU), should respect the rules related to state aid. According to EU regulations, governments are allowed to grant state aid only if restrictive conditions are met, with the aim of preventing distortion of market competition.
The European Commission previously warned Montenegro for years because of its continued support for the former national airline Montenegro Airlines.
The legal requirement for someone to receive state aid is the consent of the Commission for State Aid, i.e. from 2018, the Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZZK), a functionally independent institution, which has taken over the competences of the Commission.
The independence of the State Aid Control Commission, which was under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, was the benchmark for opening negotiations with the EU in Chapter 8 - Competition Policy. That chapter was last opened in June of last year.
This year, the Agency for the Protection of Competition passed a decision which determined that the entire Law on Investment in the Consolidation and Development of Montenegro Airlines is not in accordance with the Law on State Aid Control.
That law was adopted at the end of 2019, and based on it, the former government paid the company 43 of the planned 155 million euros by the end of August last year.
AZZK did not answer the questions of CIN-CG whether they checked the state aid granted through the two programs of the Employment Office.
At the beginning of the year, AZZK initiated two investigation procedures due to the Institute's schedule. These are the Professional Orientation Costs program worth 6.986 euros and the Professional Rehabilitation Program worth 255.781 euros. In March of this year, the AZZK Council assessed that the mentioned programs do not constitute state aid.
ASK: We controlled employment during the election campaign
The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (ASK) told CIN-CG that they controlled all employment in the authorities in Mojkovac and Cetinje during the campaign "and made all documentation publicly available".
The Institute said that they sought the opinion of the KAS, considering that the programs were carried out before the local elections in Mojkovac, Petnjica and Cetinje, which were held on December 5.
KAS, as they state, gave an opinion that the Law on the Financing of Political Entities and Election Campaigns does not prescribe prohibitions and restrictions for those programs during the election campaign, bearing in mind that these are regular programs of the Institute on an annual level.
The Institute clarified that with the selected contractors from the municipalities in which the elections were held, and to which employment bans and restrictions apply, contracts on the implementation of the program will be concluded after the elections.
KAS approved the employment of Posta in Mojkovac
The Post stated that the Institute approved the employment of one candidate in the territory of the municipality of Mojkovac.
"We had in mind Article 44 of the Law on Financing of Political Entities and Political Parties, and we contacted KAS on this occasion. We received an answer that, given that the company's headquarters is in Podgorica and that this is relevant, we are not obliged to submit the documentation provided for by the Law, regardless of the fact that the advertisement was also announced for the territories of the municipalities where the local elections. If, however, it is required, the Post Office will deliver everything that is prescribed in a timely manner", said the Post Office.
Recommendation of the EC to develop employment measures for young people, women and the disabled
In this year's report, the European Commission stated that Montenegro has made limited progress in the area of social policy and employment. The recommendations are, among other things, to continue the implementation of the Law on Labor and Development, a quality employment measure aimed at young people and women, people with disabilities, minorities and vulnerable people affected by the pandemic.
At the end of October, the institute announced that it had received 1,2 million euros from European funds for persons with difficulty in finding employment. Thus, 159 unemployed people from the Institute's records received grants for employment and starting a business in the amount of three to 7,5 thousand euros.
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