SMCG Main Board: Raonic showed that he doesn't know who to negotiate with about salary increases

In an attempt to show that he is most committed to improving the status of employees at Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG), the General Director of the Public Service, Boris Raonić, yesterday, in fact, showed that he does not know with whom he should negotiate the salary increase for which he is fighting so fervently, the Main Board of the Media Union of Montenegro (SMCG) announced today.

"Raonic, in fact, invited members of the Management Board of the Media Union of Montenegro to take a polygraph test, with whom, as can be concluded from this invitation, he had previously negotiated a salary increase, but they allegedly blocked it. The General Director of RTCG has thus shown that he does not know the name of the union within the Public Service with which he can only negotiate a Collective Agreement, so it is quite clear how he would end up on a lie detector, although he is convinced that it is the only measure of truth in the Montenegrin media sky," the statement of the Main Board of the SMCG states.

Yesterday, after the president of the RTCG Trade Union, Jadranka Drobnjak, gave a speech at a protest in front of RTCG, Raonić told reporters, among other things: "We as employers initiated the adoption of the Sectoral Collective Agreement, which was obstructed by the Media Trade Union, which is mainly made up of employees and people who work in the Vijesti editorial office."

The Main Board of SMCG added that so that Raonić would know how to do it in the future, they would teach him on this occasion that he can only negotiate with the RTCG Employees' Union, which is part of SMCG, but is the only one with the authority to negotiate the Collective Agreement in the Public Service.

"The Media Union, according to regulations, negotiates the Branch Collective Agreement (which Raonić also mentioned yesterday in the wrong context because he does not know the terms), and not individual collective agreements within individual media houses. However, we are aware of why Raonić mentions the Media Union, because it is a convenient target for attacks and slanders with which he tries to cover up the persecution of union members in the house he manages. The Media Union has informed international organizations dealing with free media about his understanding of unions, journalistic autonomy, freedom and democracy, and provides full support to the RTCG Employees Union in the fight to save unionism in the Public Service, which Raonić wants to shut down," said the Main Board of the SMCG.