Director of the Day Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities and Developmental Difficulties in Seljanovo, Tivat (Day Center) Srdjan Krunic, in September last year, obliged employees to sign non-disclosure agreements (Agreement), which declare all data related to work at that institution to be secret.
Among other things, the Contract restricts employees from disclosing any information about the institution's work in the event of disputes, which is particularly problematic because Krunić's work at the Day Care Center is currently being investigated by the court, the prosecutor's office, and the Municipality of Tivat, due to suspicions of multiple malpractices: due to illegal increases in his salary and excessive supervision of employees, and last year, employees and former employees filed several disputes against him due to illegal disciplinary procedures, as well as other problems.
Last year's contracts are very problematic because they put employees in a situation where they are not allowed to report any suspicious events in the institution, warn experts for the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
Employees were forced to sign contracts under threat of disciplinary action, and breach of contract, or disclosure of any information related to their work at the Day Care Center, is punishable by 10 euros, with additional costs if, as stated in the text of the contract that CIN-CG had access to, financial damage was caused to the institution.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Bar is investigating the case regarding suspicions that Krunić illegally increased his own salary, following a report from the Police Directorate, the ODT Bar told CIN-CG.
A court case is currently underway before the Basic Court in Kotor because the union organization of the Day Care Center sued Krnić for excessive surveillance of employees by installing multiple cameras in the institution's premises, the judge confirmed to CIN-CG. Veljko Bulatović.
Documents obtained by CIN-CG also show that two employees sued Krunić last year for illegal disciplinary procedures. The Basic Court in Kotor has already ruled in one's favor, while the other is still awaiting a verdict.
In addition, the Kotor Special Educational Service is still investigating a case of abuse of a child with an autism spectrum diagnosis at that institution, which occurred in February last year. For this, a special education teacher Ognjen Begenisic already found guilty in the first instance verdict of the Basic Court in Kotor, which he appealed.
The Kotor State Prosecutor's Office told CIN-CG that a separate case investigating the responsibility of other employees is in the investigation phase.
Recently, the Municipality of Tivat, under whose jurisdiction the Day Care Center falls, also found financial irregularities during an audit. The Opinion of the Secretariat for Social Affairs of the Municipality of Tivat from April, which CIN-CG had access to, states that the financial report for 2025 is not in line with the plan for 2025, because a vehicle was purchased that was not foreseen in that plan.
The union of employees of the Day Care Center addressed Krunić, as well as the Board of Directors of that institution, demanding that the disputed non-disclosure agreements be withdrawn, because they are not in line with any law relating to public institutions, because they are completely imprecise in terms of what constitutes confidential information, and because they are not in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Business Secrets, which requires a precise definition of confidential information, as stated in a letter that CIN-CG has reviewed.
It is stated that the entire text was probably taken from some business company, "which probably deals with particularly important technological and other discoveries", which, as they point out, cannot be applied in a social welfare institution.
The Daily Center did not respond to a series of questions posed to them by CIN-CG, but instead invited the journalist to come for a visit during which they want to explain everything, but only at the end of May.
RADULOVIC: LEGALLY UNSUSTAINABLE
In the contracts, absolutely everything related to the institution's activities is marked as secret, including the simple exchange of information through oral conversation, and one of the provisions also stipulates the responsibility of employees for disclosing information obtained before concluding the contract.
"You cannot declare 'everything' secret in a public institution, because such a clause is too broad and legally untenable. Data confidentiality must be precisely defined and proportionate, and in particular it cannot include illegalities, irregularities in work, and treatment of users, in this case - children. Such general formulations are null and void," the lawyer explains to CIN-CG. Veselin Radulović.
"Information protected as a business secret in the sense of this contract includes all information of any nature and in any form (oral, written, electronic, etc.), which concerns the operations of the Public Institution Day Care Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities and Developmental Difficulties Tivat, which the engaged person has learned or has access to as a result of any cooperation (before or after the conclusion of the contract), information that the engaged person has obtained by simply being present on the premises of the Public Institution Day Care Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities and Developmental Difficulties - Tivat (both those that can be acquired by simple observation and those that require the use of technical means)," states the text of the contract that CIN-CG had access to.
The contract states that a trade secret is all information in any form, including information obtained from a document, conversation or electronically, information contained in physical parts, and which is exposed in any way, accidentally or intentionally. This effectively prohibits employees from revealing anything related to their daily stay at the Day Care Center.
"The engaged person agrees to treat the fact that negotiations, conversations, discussions are taking place, as well as the content thereof, as strictly confidential," the contracts state.
RULES FOR COMPANIES SHOULD NOT APPLY TO INSTITUTIONS
"No one should be disciplined for reporting illegality. Information about child abuse or neglect, illegal actions by employees or management, irregularities in the work of the institution, communication with competent authorities such as the inspection, police, prosecutor's office, must never be secret," says lawyer Radulović.
Because of all of the above, Radulović explains, this action by the director resembles an attempt to introduce control over employees through a contract and prevent problems and illegalities from being brought to the public.
The contracts that CIN-CG had access to state that if employees disclose any information, they risk a fine of 10 euros, which is contrary to practice in public institutions.
"Such a clause is not legal, especially if employees are forced to sign such a penalty. Institutions do not have the authority to do that," says Radulović.
"Failure to sign this contract is considered a violation of work obligations and may constitute grounds for initiating disciplinary proceedings, in accordance with the Labor Law of Montenegro," states the Notice that Krunić sent to employees a few days before the signing of the contract.
That is why, as CIN-CG has learned, most employees signed contracts. The Notice states that “the obligation to sign contracts arises from the Law on Obligations of Montenegro and the Law on Business Companies.”
However, these laws apply to companies, but not institutions, Radulović explained to CIN-CG.
"Referring to the rules that apply to companies is wrong because a public institution does not operate for profit, and it is subject to the principles of transparency, public interest, and accountability to citizens."
The business secret clause is common in private companies, but it should not be in this form for employees in social welfare institutions.
"The only information that must be protected is personal and sensitive data, the identity of children and families, health, psychological and social data," Radulović points out.
The text of the contract states that the provisions of this document will be kept as a trade secret, and that neither party will disclose their contents without written consent, which is particularly problematic because it prevents employees from bringing the disputed content of the contract to light.
CONTRACTS ARRIVED AFTER ABUSE OF PROTECTED PERSONS
Krunić forced employees to sign the contract after the public was shocked by the violence that occurred at the Day Care Center on February 26, 2025. At that time, a resident of the institution was beaten by a special education teacher, Begenišić. Krunić only initiated disciplinary proceedings against the special education teacher after the story became public, after the employees reported the case to the police.
Krunić suspended the representative of the trade union organization of the Daily Center Zoran Lubarda "because he reported the special education teacher to the police, without first informing the principal about the situation," as he explained at a press conference regarding the abuse.
However, at the Tivat Municipal Assembly session in March 2025, where the video of violence against the resident was discussed, Krunić stated that the boy's special education teacher only "slapped" him a few times, and that "there were no blows," as stated in the minutes of the session, which CIN-CG had access to.
The first-instance verdict, which found the special education teacher guilty, and which CIN-CG has seen, paints a completely different picture. It is alleged that Begenašić abused his client by holding the injured party in a position known as a “grip,” and after the injured party fought back, he struck him several times in the head with an open fist and kicked him. At one point, the verdict states, the client put his head between Begenašić’s knees, “whereupon the defendant squeezed his knees and moved them left and right, while the injured party was in a kneeling position in front of him.”
Begenašić's behavior led to the resident crying, self-harming, and hitting another resident. Despite all of this, the verdict states, Begenašić continued to behave aggressively toward the resident. A psychiatric expert determined that the defendant Begenašić knew the significance and consequences of his actions, and that he had problems controlling his own reactions and impulses, which led to partial, but not complete, insanity.
USSCG: INCREASING ATTEMPTS TO INTIMIDATE USING INAUDIBLE SECRECY AGREEMENTS
"The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (USSCG) is increasingly witnessing attempts by a number of employers from both the public and private sectors to force employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, which are questionable for a number of reasons, most often through intimidation or threats of disciplinary measures and termination of employment contracts," the Deputy Secretary General told CIN-CG. Ivana Mihajlovic.
"First of all, it is a matter of non-compliance with the legislative framework, then the lack of a definition of a trade secret, especially due to the lack of explicitly stated data that will be considered a trade and professional secret, and the lack of defining the method of marking information with different degrees of secrecy," says Mihajlović.
The Law on Business Companies does not apply to public institutions, but exclusively to companies and entrepreneurs. The Law on Business Companies, which has been in force since 1 January 2026, introduced provisions on the protection of business secrets, and clearly defined what can be considered a business secret, and in particular it was emphasized that not all data related to the performance of a company's activities can be determined as a "business secret", explains Mihajlović.
It often happens that these contracts do not state exceptional situations in which a trade secret can be disclosed, such as a request from a court or a state authority to protect the public interest, explains Mihajlović.
The failure to define the employees to whom respect for trade secrets applies is particularly problematic.
"USSCG advises its members that in cases where they are offered contracts created on the principle that 'everything is confidential', they should file a complaint with the employers before signing and point out the illegalities and shortcomings of such contracts, reserving the right to check the validity of such contracts and their legal basis with the Personal Data Protection Agency, the Labor Inspectorate and other relevant authorities," Mihajlović points out.
"In our practice, such attempts by a number of employers are often used to prevent, render meaningless, or limit the efficient work of unions that, in pursuing their legitimate union goals, use the institutional framework to combat possible illegalities," she states.
The practice of the European Court of Human Rights supports the view that an insufficiently clear and precise or overly broad definition of "confidential information" makes the employer's acts unlawful, and exempts employees from liability in the event of proceedings initiated by the employer aimed at terminating the employment contract or compensating for damages, Mihajlović points out.
The Kotor District Court is still investigating the case of abuse of a child with an autism spectrum diagnosis in that institution, for which special education teacher Ognjen Begenišić has already been found guilty in the first-instance verdict...
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