The Media Union of Montenegro (SMCG) invited all members of the Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG) Employees' Union to contact them if the management of the Public Service initiates any proceedings against them, referring to the newly adopted Code of Ethics.
"The new rules adopted by the RTCG Council, which are contrary to the Constitution, the Labor Law, the General Collective Agreement and the RTCG Collective Agreement, must not be applied and no one can be disciplined or fired by referring to such a Code of Ethics. For this reason, we encourage all our members to contact us for free representation before the employer and before the courts, if such procedures do occur. Aware of the fact that rights are difficult, almost impossible, to acquire, difficult to maintain, and they are lost by raising the hands of members of the RTCG Council, we are determined to fight for all those who are victims of persecution by an (illegal) employer," states the statement signed by The main board of SMCG.
SMCG pointed out that the provisions of the Code of Ethics, which concern the mandatory consent of the employer for additional work, go beyond the competence of the document of that type and represent a direct impact on something that is the subject of labor legislation. An additional problem, they claim, is that within the framework of Article 14, which defines the conflict of interest, the employer is allowed to decide for himself to whom he will give consent for additional work engagement.
"The same can be said for calling for disciplinary responsibility in any case, because it is incomprehensible that with one document that regulates ethics, an employee can be punished with the most drastic measure - termination of the employment contract. It is known that disciplinary responsibility is regulated by other documents, so it is incomprehensible that this Code managed to pass any filter of lawyers", said SMCG.
The announcement also states that it is also problematic to prevent the public activity of employees and endanger their freedom of speech, as well as their critical attitude towards events in the society of which they are an integral part as citizens.
"It is unnecessary to comment that proving the value position is the subject of proceedings before the Ethics Committee and the employer, who in this case have been given the jurisdiction of the court", it was announced.
From SMCG, they assessed that the Code of Ethics is full of general formulations, such as going public that is inappropriate for the job the employee performs, endangering the social reputation and business of RTCG..., which can be applied to almost any situation. They consider the authority given to the employer to monitor the activities of employees on social networks and, in accordance with the assessment, to punish them for it, also problematic.
"Having all this in mind, we are sure that if the employer decides to apply this document, it will encounter a similar response from the judicial authorities as in earlier labor disputes, and that its only outcome will be compensation for damages to employees," concludes the SMCG announcement.
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