New Acting Director of the Institute of Public Health Ivan Samardzic he suspended disciplinary proceedings against his predecessor in that position Snezane Barjaktarovic Labovic because, only after her statement, they still realized that they had suspended her contrary to the regulations.
Samardžić dismissed his colleague, now the head of the department for science, projects, international cooperation and journalism at the IJZ Science Center, in early November, accusing her of committing a serious breach of her work obligations under the Sectoral Collective Agreement for the Health Sector while she was acting director in August of this year. However, the proceedings were suspended on 19 November because it was determined that, during the period when she was acting director of the IJZ, her rights and obligations under the employment relationship were suspended because she was appointed to that position by a government decision. According to information obtained by “Vijesti”, a law firm hired by the new acting director is responsible for conducting disciplinary proceedings against her, as well as several of her colleagues at the IJZ, although the institution’s legal department has four lawyers.
Barjaktarović Labović did not want to comment on the case yesterday, while the Public Health Institute has not responded to questions about the disciplinary proceedings they initiated against her, as well as several employees, for a month now.
"Vijesti" reported last month that the recently elected acting director had initiated disciplinary proceedings against the former director and two other doctors at the institution, Aleksandra Marjanović i Agime Ljaljevic, which have been suspended until the completion of that process, while the Assistant Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs Sinisa Kovacevic dismissed.
Last month, the head of the Center for Medical Microbiology was also replaced. Marijana Mimovic, and due to the events at the Public Health Institute, the director of the Center for Hygiene and Health Ecology resigned Zorica Djordjevic.
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“Vijesti” unofficially learned that Samardžić is charging them with alleged serious violations of work obligations because these employees founded a non-governmental association for preventive medicine (PREVMED), registered at the address of that institution. Several sources said that the NGO PREVMED has been closed, but that the establishment of such organizations is not uncommon, because about thirty non-governmental associations are registered at the addresses of public health institutions, most notably the Clinical Center of Montenegro. The reason for this, they claim, lies in the fact that all medical and scientific congresses are organized by professional associations, while public health institutions participate as partners, because this would risk violating regulations governing public finances and public procurement.
The new acting director accused Barjaktarović Labović of abusing the institution's official office email in August of this year and ordering employees to send a letter to their addresses informing them of the establishment of the PREVMED association, instructing them to join and pay a membership fee of two euros per month, which they would use for activities and projects. In this way, they claimed, she abused the employees' working hours, the IJZ computer, but also the institution's offices by allowing them to be used for association meetings.
In this way, the new management claimed, Barjaktarović Labović and her colleagues committed a serious breach of their work obligations under the Sectoral Collective Agreement for the Healthcare Sector - improper disposal of entrusted funds and abuse of position or exceeding of authority. However, they later stated that in August her rights and obligations from her employment relationship were suspended because she performed the function of acting director, by decision of the Government, until the end of September, when she resigned.
Ljaljević fined
"Vijesti" has learned that the director of the IJZ Science Center, a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Agima Ljaljević, was given a sanction of a 20 percent reduction in her monthly salary. She, together with Dr. Marjanović and Assistant Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs Siniša Kovačević, who has since been dismissed, was the founder of the NGO PREVMED.
Responding to questions about the disciplinary proceedings against her, Health Minister Vojislav Šimun said in the Parliament a few days ago that he highly values her, which is why he gave his consent to her early appointment as director of the Science Center. He said that he would investigate whether she was drawn into a group through the procedural action, assessing that she was misled and that she was not at fault.
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