Pharmacist Milena Marić, employed for 15 years at "Montefarm", claims that she is continuously being mobbed in that institution, which is why she initiated a dispute against the director. Goran Marinović before the Agency for Peaceful Dispute Resolution.
Marić claims that during the term of the director, she was transferred several times to other, more distant workplaces that were not even systematized, which she experienced as a personal and professional degradation as an experienced pharmacist, and that the director did not even give her permission to teach at the Secondary Medical School, even though accepted at the competition and has been working with students for years, the only one with a license in that field.
However, the management of "Montefarm" points out that these are unfounded claims, that the transfers are in accordance with the law, but also that "other pharmacists should have been given the opportunity to work overtime".
Moved, then lost consent for additional work
In the letter, submitted to "Vijesti", Marić states that in January of this year, she received a verbal notification that a pharmacist was needed to help in the "Stari aerodrome" pharmacy for three weeks, until the return of a colleague who works there from sick leave. She said that she asked why someone younger wasn't going, because she has 23 years of experience, but that she was told that "it's better to accept".
"I accepted and did my job there professionally, conscientiously and honestly. I did not receive any written decision about the transition to assistance. There I worked a shift from 7 a.m. to 15 p.m., five days a week, and at the home pharmacy I had night shifts and working Sundays," said Marić.
She claims that, in the meantime, she received a phone call from the director's secretary who informed her that Marinović had withdrawn his consent to teach at the Medical School and that she should write an email that she understood this.
"That's literally how she addressed me. I then told her to contact me via email and that I would reply that I 'understood'... After my email, reactions to the notification that cooperation with the school was being terminated, on January 22, 1, while I was on duty at the workplace in during the afternoon shift around 2023 p.m., the director came in and aggressively, with a threatening look, dressed inappropriately (in a tracksuit) and in a raised voice asked: 'Who is this Milena Marić who has a moral obligation to the students'..." Marić said.
She claims that after the conversation, Marinović said that she and the technician would be transferred to another pharmacy and left. She pointed out that because of that event, she experienced fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
"By the way, the director is known to shout and threaten with his index finger while talking," she said.
Sent to Spuž to develop a pharmacy
Marić points out that he has signed a contract on additional work with the School of Medicine based on the competition from 30/11/2022 and selection decision No. 1078 of 27/12/2022, and until 31/8/2023 at the latest for a certain period of time, which was terminated by email.
Marić claims that in the meantime she received a phone call from the director of the Health Care Sector Rose Čukić Ćorović, who announced that she was preparing to transfer her to the "Spuž" pharmacy in Danilovgrad, explaining that she should "develop the pharmacy as an experienced pharmacist".
"I made it clear to her that I perceive it as a personal and professional degradation and in extremely bad faith, considering that the "development" of the pharmacy is done by the head of the pharmacy, who has a higher coefficient and job description for that. I was surprised that they, as management, do not know what is needed to develop a pharmacy", said Marić.
She claims that after a few days she received an invitation for an interview with Marinović, which was also attended by Čukić Ćorović.
"At the meeting, I said that I perceive everything as a personal and professional degradation. He mentioned my late father and insinuated that I had privileges, since my father worked at Montefarma. I then told him that I was not employed at Montefarm while my father was, that I worked privately for the first 10 years, and that my father was largely retired when I moved to Montefarm. There was no need for him to mention my father. He even used the term 'insolence'. To that, I clearly said that I was hired by my degree and that we pharmacists have always been a profession in short supply. The conversation ended with the fact that I will not go to the Spuž pharmacy, but to some other pharmacy. I was informed that I was transferred to the Momišići pharmacy," said Marić.
Marić, who started working at the Momišići pharmacy in March, was already informed in September that she would be moving to the Spuž pharmacy from October 5. When she asked why, she was told that Čukić Ćorović said "that you didn't calm down".
"The stress and shock that I experienced at the time due to the qualification of 'calming' me as a person, a business owner, a graduate pharmacist and, ultimately, a woman, is explained by my going to the chosen doctor and including the therapy", said Marić and pointed out that she did not receive a reply to the emails she sent sent later to the director of the sector Čukić Ćorović.
The only one with a license cannot work
Marić also said that, after the break, the director decided to renew cooperation with the Secondary Medical School in Podgorica in September. He claims that he previously terminated cooperation only with that school, not the schools in Nikšić and Berane, and that after the decision to re-establish cooperation, he personally appointed the lecturers from "Montefarm".
"I don't know what criteria he used to determine who will be the lecturers, since he doesn't have that authority, but I know, as everyone who is engaged in pedagogical work will confirm, that a license is necessary for pedagogical work," she pointed out.
Marić said that in addition to having a license, for which there are prerequisites, she also has four years of teaching experience, which is very important in a professorship, and that the director should properly explain why he does not approve her to be a lecturer. She pointed out that she is particularly disturbed by the fact that director Marinović is denying her the right to be equal on the labor market and that, in addition to being illegal, this raises doubts about the correctness of the election, because why would anyone elect someone who does not meet the requirements?
She said that no one responded to the emails she sent asking for consent, even though she passed the last competition at the High School of Medicine. She claims that she addressed the ministries of health and education, science and innovation on that occasion.
Montefarm: It's not discrimination, but the needs of the job
"Montefarm" replied to "Vijesta" that Marić was transferred to another pharmacy, but "according to the needs of organizing the work of all pharmacies and providing adequate pharmaceutical health services to citizens". They said that during 2023, a total of 46 pharmacists and 48 pharmaceutical technicians were assigned to other pharmacies and that this was done according to the Labor Law.
"We have been working for a long time to allocate pharmaceutical staff and support staff in the best way, to renovate and equip pharmacies from our own funds (inventory and exterior of pharmacies, additional equipment for laboratories). The reason for such a thing is absolutely not discrimination on any basis, but after detailed analyzes of economic profitability, it was necessary to resort to staffing of individual pharmacies, all in order to make Montefarm's business as good as possible. The end result is a better pharmaceutical service and an increase in income precisely for the benefit of the employees. Most of the pharmacies where staff changes were made have an increase in turnover of 50-200 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, and this is the best confirmation of the correctness of our decision, about which there are official reports", the answer states.
They said that when redeploying staff, they take into account years of service, health, marital status or younger children, but that there are exceptions and that in some situations it is necessary to refer colleagues to other institutions due to lack of staff and other business factors.
"Colleague Milena Marić worked continuously from 2009 to 2023 precisely at the pharmacy 'Kruševac', that is, for a total of 14 years and was transferred from it to another. And that is one of the reasons to move one and the same staff who have been working in on-call pharmacies for years to smaller pharmacies in order to provide equal opportunities to other female colleagues with the same professional characteristics and titles. We believe that this was precisely discrimination, the possibility of additional earnings for the same employees for decades", claim the management of this institution.
The administration of "Montefarm" also said that Marić had been doing supplementary work at the Secondary Medical School for years and that they believe that others should have been given the same opportunity. When asked why the director did not give her consent, he replied that "it is extremely complex to organize shift work due to the smooth work process and the realistically insufficient number of graduate pharmacists on the labor market".
"Given the fact that the aforementioned conditions were not met specifically in the case of Ms. Marić, due to the needs of the work organization of the pharmacy to which she was assigned, there was no legal possibility for her to obtain the required consent this year," the administration concludes.
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