The authorities' lack of promptness shows that the state does not want to put an end to the brazen violation of labor rights in the Emergency Medical Service (HMP) in Andrijevica.
This is claimed by one of the unemployed young medical technicians, Filip Guberinić, who, together with other unemployed young medical technicians, initiated with the labor inspectorate last month to check whether there is abuse of sick leave of two medical technicians, employed in HMP in that city.
Guberinić says that their colleagues have been working for months in the German healthcare system, and that they use sick leave in Montenegro.
This, as they claim, has made it impossible for those who are waiting for a job to be employed in those positions.
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On June 23rd, the residents of Andrijev received a reply from the Labor Inspectorate that checking the misuse of sick leave is not within their competence.
The inspection also announced that the initiative of Guberinić and others was forwarded to the Health Inspection.
However, as Chief Health and Sanitary Inspector Dr. Karmela Mujičić told "Vijesti", the Labor Inspectorate submitted the initiative to her only on July 5, i.e. the same day when "Vijesti" asked for the reasons for not reacting to what Andrijev residents claim.
"On July 5, the Labor Inspectorate forwarded the initiative of Milonja Čukić and Filip Guberinić regarding the possible misuse of sick leave by two medical technicians employed at the Institute for Emergency Medical Assistance in Andrijevica. The health inspector received an order to carry out supervision within his jurisdiction. After the inspection is completed, we will inform you about the situation," said Mujičić.
Unemployed medical technicians remind that their colleagues, who are "parallelly earning money in Germany and receiving a salary in Montenegro, cannot obtain any proof that they are currently in our country, except to attach false papers about fake sick leave for which the burden is borne by the doctors who open them".
"We learn that colleagues boast that they will obstruct the work of the competent inspection services with political and personal connections and will do everything to keep their jobs. All this despite the fact that there are those at the Labor Bureau who should apply and establish an employment relationship. The deed to the workplace as an idea is a product of thirty years of abuse of state resources for party and personal purposes, which put individuals above the law", said Guberinić to "Vijesta".
He reminds that their colleagues "are on sick leave thanks to the actions of certain doctors". They also ask "what needs to happen so that there is a timely reaction from the health inspection, whose jurisdiction is abuse of sick leave".
"Why is it so difficult to implement the following legal steps and instructions in such obvious and brazen examples of abuse of employees' rights? Should we hire a lawyer and sue all those who turn a blind eye to this and similar cases? How to keep young people in the north in municipalities that are declining day by day when we discourage them with examples like this? That some can serve themselves from two tables, while others will be left with those crumbs behind everything. State, show that you have institutions and that the law applies to everyone. Citizens of Montenegro, today someone you don't know is disenfranchised, tomorrow it will be your child or maybe even you. Don't close your eyes and don't hesitate, the way we are today, the way we will be forever", say the young people of Andrijev.
The Ministry of Health did not respond to Vijesti's question about whether they knew about the claims of Čukić and Guberinić, sent first as an initiative to the inspection, and then announced in the media. The department, which is headed by Dragoslav Šćekić, did not answer whether they will deal with the case of possible abuse of sick leave in Andrijevac HMP, and whether the phenomenon has been observed in other health institutions in the country.
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