Education Union to primary school principals: Next salaries to be paid in accordance with the GKU or lawsuits will follow

The Education Union of Montenegro has informed primary school principals in the country that, as they claim, the payment of July salaries to education employees violated the Sectoral Collective Agreement (GKU) and called on them to correct this error, request an official explanation from the competent ministry, and ensure that subsequent salaries are paid in accordance with the valid GKU.

Otherwise, the Union warned that they would be forced to call on employees to exercise their rights through court actions against their institutions.

"We, as the Education Trade Union of Montenegro, hereby inform you that the payment of July salaries to employees in education violated the Sectoral Collective Agreement for the field of education, which represents the only valid and lawful legal basis for the calculation and payment of salaries in this sector. The salaries for July were calculated in violation of the provisions of Article 22 of the Sectoral Collective Agreement, which deprived employees of the rights guaranteed by law and the collective agreement. What is even more serious is that the school accountants, and then you as directors, were misled and instructed to act contrary to the valid collective agreement - without a single written act that would explain such a change, without referring to the valid regulation, and without consulting with employee representatives, which is contrary to the principles of social dialogue," the Education Trade Union stated in its address to primary school directors.

The union emphasized that the GKU is a legally binding act, concluded in accordance with the Labor Law, the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector and the General Collective Agreement, and its provisions must be applied in full.

"If this practice of illegal salary calculation continues, the Education Union will be forced to call on employees to exercise their rights through legal actions against their institutions. This would expose schools to serious legal and financial risk, and the responsibility for such a situation would lie directly with those who violated the obligations under the collective agreement. We urge you to correct this mistake as soon as possible, request an official explanation from the competent ministry, and ensure that future salaries are paid in accordance with the valid Sectoral Collective Agreement. The Education Union is available for any additional legal and professional assistance in protecting the interests of both employees and the institutions themselves," the statement concludes.