Education Union: Budget Inspection is not competent to judge whether something is in accordance with the General Budget Code

The Education Union claims that the Budget Inspection is not competent to judge whether something is in accordance with the Sectoral Collective Agreement (GKU) for the field of education, nor to invalidate the decisions and opinions of the Commission for the Implementation, Monitoring, Application and Interpretation of the GKU, which is the only one authorized to do so.

This was stated in response to information published in the media that the Budget Inspection stated that schools were calculating allowances for union leaders in violation of regulations, that they were not properly reducing the salaries of teachers on sick leave, and that the percentage of past work was also incorrectly calculated.

The Union said that the text states that the control covered the period from January 2016 to February 2025, and that according to the findings, the same irregularities were noted, which are repeated year after year.

"The Education Trade Union must emphasize that the aforementioned inspection is not competent to adjudicate on the interpretation of the Sectoral Collective Agreement (GKU) for the field of education, nor to invalidate the decisions and opinions of the Commission for the Implementation, Monitoring, Application and Interpretation of the GKU, which is the only one authorized to do so. According to Article 79 of the current GKU, only the Commission for the Implementation, Monitoring, Application and Interpretation of the GKU has the right to issue official opinions, decisions and interpretations regarding the application of the GKU. This Commission is bipartisan and its composition includes representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro (mostly lawyers) and the Education Trade Union of Montenegro. The Commission has never and nowhere given an interpretation that the coefficients for employees in education are only what is written in the tables, as the Budget Inspection claims," ​​the response reads.

They add that this is also indicated by the Opinion of 6 December 12, in which the Commission confirmed that the coefficient of employees in education is not only what is written in the table, but also everything that is found after the table - such as class teachers, scientific and teaching titles and other items. This opinion has never been withdrawn or challenged by the competent court, or the same Commission, and is still in force.

"It is similar to Decision No. 23 of 18. 2. 2008, which was adopted by the same Commission, based on an agreement with the then Government, and which stipulated the right of trade union presidents to increase their salaries due to carrying out trade union activities. This Decision established that trade union presidents are entitled to bonuses of 2% to 5%, depending on the number of trade union members in the school. This Decision was signed by the President of the Commission and the Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science of Montenegro, and delivered to all educational institutions. Therefore, it is not true that trade union bonuses were paid outside the regulations - they were calculated precisely on the basis of an official decision. This decision was made invalid based on an email from an employee from the Ministry of Finance (after 17 years of application), which constitutes legal violence."

The Union also states that the directors and accountants of the institutions acted in accordance with the law, the Sectoral Collective Agreement for the field of education, and the decisions of the Commission, which was confirmed by numerous reputable lawyers from Montenegro.

"It follows from everything that the findings of the Budget Inspection are nothing more than confirmation of the previously stated positions of the Ministry of Finance that allegedly 'nothing was legal' in education and that abuses were committed. We point out that the Budget Inspection is a body directly subordinate to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Novica Vuković, and that everything was done according to the principle of 'the judge sues you, the judge judges you'. Finally, we would like to state that all disputes of this type must be resolved before the competent Commission or courts, and not through unilateral interpretations of the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro and the inspection subordinate to them," the response reads.