At its session, the Government of Montenegro should adopt an agreement on salary increases for educators, and then authorize the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation Andjelu Jakišić Stojanović, to sign that document with the Education Union, the president of that organization told "Vijesta" yesterday Radomir Božović.
He said he expects the agreement to be signed by the end of the week.
"We did not sign the agreement with the Government of Montenegro for technical reasons. The Government must first adopt the document at the session, because that is the procedure. When it is adopted at the session, it should be authorized by the Ministry of Education, and then we will sign it," said Božović.
About 60 percent of educators in Montenegrin schools suspended classes for three days last week because, as they claim, the Government refused to comply with the Branch Collective Agreement (GKU) and increase January wages by 10 percent gross.
After the agreement with the Government, the Trade Union announced last Wednesday that it was ending the three-day protest of educators.
According to the agreement between the union and the state, teachers will have a 1 percent gross salary increase from July 10, and then a cumulative 17 percent increase from the beginning of the school year.
In the meantime, a state lawsuit was filed against the Education Union.
Protector of property and legal interests of the state Bojana Cirovic last week, she requested that the Basic Court in Podgorica declare the recently concluded strike of educators illegal.
In addition to non-compliance with domestic regulations, she states in the lawsuit that the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Humpert and others v. Germany, in its judgment of December 14, 2023, found that limiting the right to strike to employees in education does not violate the right to freedom of assembly and associations from Article 11 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and that the sanctioning of such employees is in accordance with the Convention law.
Božović told "Vijesta" that the union had prepared a response to the state's lawsuit. He recalled the promise of Minister Jakšić Stojanović that "she will not implement sanctions against the employees who were on strike".
"The competent minister, Jakšić Stojanović, also said that she will contact the Agency for the Peaceful Resolution of Disputes regarding the establishment of the Act on the Minimum Work Process. We have once again reminded her to do so," said Božović.
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