The company "Parking servis" from Podgorica can only pay salaries to its employees from closed parking spaces, while open ones would make a pure profit, if they were regulated by laws and other regulations.
This is what the president of the Trade Union Organization "Parking Service Workers Association" Dalibor Radonjić told "Vijesti", presenting a series of accusations against the work of the city company.
He claims that the majority of employees work in inhumane conditions, and he points out that until recently their salaries were the lowest compared to colleagues from other cities - 360 euros, of which 280 is the base, and the rest refers to city transport, a hot meal and a twelfth of holiday pay.
The management of the company, headed by Nusret Canović, denies the allegations of the trade union organization.
They accused the media and representatives of the workers of "intensified media activity of presenting completely incorrect information about the business of the Parking Service, all under the veil of alleged objective information of the public and the trade union struggle, behind which is hidden only the struggle for the personal particular interests of certain trade unionists and absolutely nothing more".
The revenues would be great, if done properly
Radonjić, however, says that the company has been "running roughshod" for almost 10 years, and claims that the financial statements submitted to the tax authorities are incorrect.
He also claims that only eligible people receive incentives in the company, and that the recession started in 2012, when the company had its last real surplus, and it operated with half as many parking spaces - 3.000.
"With the change of management in 2013, our salary was illegally reduced by 10 percent, and for the next 18 months no contributions were paid. Imagine, the previous director leaves a surplus of 23.000 euros, and the new one manages to damage the company by 18 euros in 700.000 months, and he also gets an apartment as a deserving citizen! Everything happens in the period 2013-2014. years, but they don't give me financial reports for that period", Radonjić told "Vijesta".
According to his words, the Capital then "reimbursed those contributions by selling some space".
"In the financial reports there is also the item 'aid to workers and other aids'. It is an item of 120 or 130 thousand euros, and none of the workers received a cent. Neither the travel orders were made properly, nor did the tender commission work properly, fuel consumption was not shown in the financial reports. That company is ripe for a state audit, to determine the actual shortfall," says Radonjić.
He specifies that "Parking service" has 132 employees, but that it has the possibility to employ 30 more.
"If it is done properly, if the regulation is passed, it will be a big source of income. We have more than 6.000 parking spaces, about 1.800 closed. The money from those 1.800 parking spaces covers the salaries of 132 workers and there may be money left over," said Radonjić.
Weak billing via SMS, no communication with the "spider"
However, he sees the problem in the fact that the company "employs on a political and family basis", the fact that, as he claims, only the chosen ones receive incentives, while the rest are owed huge sums of money.
"The problem is over 4.000 parking spaces that are charged via SMS. On the one hand, it needs to be legally regulated, while, on the other hand, the parking culture of citizens is at a low level. Therefore, the contribution of SMS billing for parking spaces is weak. In addition, the employer did not regulate the issue with the software agency, because the invoices were not paid, so our SMS service did not work for four months," claims Radonjić.
He points out that "Parking service" can earn more than 10.000 euros on a daily basis with the places it has and proper organization of work.
"There is no communication between the 'Parking Service' and the Municipal Police and the Municipal Inspection. Everywhere in the region, the 'spider' service is part of the 'Parking service', but here they are separate companies. Look at Belgrade and Zagreb. It's connected everywhere. It should also be connected with the Police Directorate. Here, call the Parking Service and ask what the procedure is to pay a fine of 2,40 euros. She's gone. It is the good will of the citizens. The Secretariat of the Capital City did not do it properly, so the Parking Service is always in a deficit with money," says Radonjić.
According to him, only two closed parking lots in the center of Podgorica, in Novaka Miloševa Street, with 74 and 34 spaces, charge 1.000 euros per day.
"They are talking about renovating the square, an investment of 12 million euros, with possible accompanying facilities and a garage with 800 parking spaces, but they plan to partially or completely privatize it. That garage could return the investment of 12 million euros in eight years, but no one is saying that," explains Radonjić.
On paper, they work in "pharmacies"
According to him, since the establishment of "Parking Service" in 2008, it was aimed at "privatizing everything in cooperation with the Branch Union for Communal Activities".
"A company cannot be established without an act on risk assessment and difficult working conditions. The parking service was established in 2008, and the first such act was done in 2019," claims Radonjić.
He points out that they clarified the working conditions, but that this was not found in the document.
"The act was done for 90 debtors. Of these, 30 are those who work in the field, it happened that their area is 20 kilometers through the city, and there is no field work and difficult working conditions. The document also contains a description of the collector's workplace: centralized, air-conditioned, office. Like in a pharmacy, it seems that we all work in offices", says Radonjić.
He claims that the act states that there is no danger due to lightning strikes.
"And I have findings that there is a danger, because the houses do not have grounding. Just imagine the radiation from multiple monitors in a space of 1,5 square meters. We are being bombarded from all sides, and the deed states that the heating is central, and the offices are air-conditioned. We have none of that. Tied for eight hours at a time to the houses, summer or winter, it doesn't matter. Air conditioning in such a space in the summer is unbearable," Radonjić points out.
The employees of that company also provided "Vijesta" with a video from a Podgorica parking lot under water during the recent heavy rains.
All that, he says, was not enough for the courts to properly judge and compensate the workers in one case.
"We have SMS workers, who requested compensation for field work through the courts. In a first-instance verdict from 2020, the court awarded compensation of 43.260 euros in their favor. However, the High Court, in record time, which cannot be remembered, decides to change the verdict and award, instead of compensation, that the workers should pay 4.000 euros in court costs, even though the employer had not previously issued an act on risk assessment. "All this is because the court's medical experts are allegedly not competent to make a report," emphasizes Radonjić.
"Falcon's eye" is just marketing and a farce
According to Radonjić, the new service of that company, "Oko sokolovo", is only marketing, because, as he claims, the car is old, and there is no legal regulation according to which it can achieve its stated purpose - raising citizens' awareness of the importance of proper parking and collecting fines. reckless drivers.
"This is a car that has traveled 260.000 kilometers. An old car will stop somewhere in the middle of the road, and it is too small to do that job. "Falcon's eye" works in vain when it is not defined by the laws. Furthermore, it is a farce. It's like you're investing and modernizing something, but you haven't passed the regulation," says Radonjić.
According to him, "Oko sokolovo" is "marketing and a complete failure".
"Until a legal regulation is passed where the citizen will be obliged, as in all large cities of other countries, to pay for parking," concludes Radonjić.
Parking service: Sabotage of the agreement with the employees
The Parking Service did not respond to the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the SMS payment, as well as the collection of fines.
They did not respond to the accusations of trade unionists regarding discrimination during the allocation of incentives, the number and claims of employees, the 2019 Enterprise Risk Assessment Act.
They announced that "recently, the media activity of presenting completely incorrect information about the business of the 'Parking Service' has intensified, all under the veil of alleged objective information of the public and the trade union struggle, behind which is hidden only the struggle for the personal particular interests of individual trade unionists and absolutely nothing more ".
"The same trade union activists who are now expressing concern for the company's business are known as multiple repeat offenders, starting with embezzling money from their colleagues, embezzling money from the company, by their own admission, and a number of other inactions for which they were disciplinary and judicially responsible ", it is stated in the answer to "Vijesta".
The company claims that "the entire operation is based on legal regulations and the Decision on public parking lots on the territory of the capital".
"Also, we want to present that the company employs excessively, while the only true fact is that the Parking service currently employs 136 workers, which is a smaller number compared to 2014, when the number of parking spaces managed by the company was 3.500, as opposed to 7.000 spaces with how much society is managing now. In translation, double the capacity and fewer employees. "Enough for the smart", they say from "Parking service".
Other claims, they say, such as that the Parking Service issues fines and the like, they don't even want to comment on, because they are "untruths and completely incorrect claims that have nothing to do with reality and are not worth commenting on."
"At the same time, we invite the same trade unionists to share all this information and claims with the competent authorities and check their veracity. We also invite them to stand by their names and surnames behind the claims they make to the public and when they are called upon to prove the truth of them, and not to hide behind the 'misinterpretation of journalists and editors' and that they didn't say it like that. Also, this kind of inaccurate presentation of information about the company's business is aimed at sabotaging certain agreements between management and employees, the conclusion of which is in progress, and all with the aim of obtaining benefits for certain law firms and who knows who else," the answer concludes.
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