The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation will not initiate procedures to determine the responsibility of educators for participating in the suspension of classes, the department said, adding that the decision of the Basic Court in Podgorica on the illegality of the strike by educators was expected.
The Ministry said that the Government managed to resolve the attempt to block the education system in a short period of time, which, as they stated, was not driven by a true struggle for a better position of every employee in education, but solely by the personal and political interests of the Trade Union President.
"We believe that the educators themselves are aware of this today, especially after this morning's guest appearance in which he continued to mislead the membership of the Union and the educators," the Ministry stated.
As they pointed out, the representatives of the Department of Education, together with their colleagues from the Ministry of Finance and the Government, approached the solution of problems in education responsibly and well before the three-day suspension of classes.
The Ministry said that the meetings with representatives of the Education Union, as well as school principals, were organized in order to present the legal framework that defines this issue.
"Individual representatives of the Trade Union completely turned a deaf ear to this, and continuously deceived the membership and all employees in education, giving them completely wrong information about the course of negotiations with the Government and the relevant ministry, as well as illegal instructions when it comes to the minimum work process" , the announcement states.
It is emphasized that the Ministry, nor anyone else, will not implement any measures and initiate procedures to determine the responsibility of educational workers for participating in an illegal strike.
"Because until now we have always worked and we will always work for the benefit and not to the detriment of any teacher", said the Ministry.
They said that their most important goal is to improve the quality of the educational process at all levels, as well as continuous work on improving the position of educators.
In support of this, as stated by the Ministry, the best evidence is the fact that the 44th Government, in addition to the salary increase that was the subject of negotiations with the Education Union, through the proposed amendments to the Branch Collective Agreement, proposed providing financial support for all employees in education who travel to work outside the place of residence, up to 50 percent of the monthly ticket amount.
"In the previous period, we resolved all cases for higher teacher positions dating from 2019, created support mechanisms for teachers through participation in working groups and study trips, started work on changes to key legal and by-laws," said the Ministry.
According to them, the environment for the realization of the teaching process has also been improved through investment in school infrastructure, procurement of equipment and vehicles.
The Ministry emphasized that in the coming period, they will work intensively on reducing the administrative duties of teachers.
"In order to finally provide them with adequate conditions to deal with what constitutes the essence of their profession, which is the implementation of the teaching process", the statement added.
It is stated that the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation and the Government remain committed to the permanent improvement of the educational system and the status of all participants in the education process, on clear and legally-based grounds.
"And a safe and reliable partner in every healthy dialogue, with the aspiration that the best solutions emerge from everything, not only for our children, but also for all those who build the foundations of a healthy society through professional engagement," the announcement says.
Bonus video:
