Keković: European partners should point out to the Government that Montenegro cannot become an EU member with this level of social dialogue

Representatives of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (USSCG) addressed a letter of protest to the presidents of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council and informed them about the unfavorable state of social dialogue in Montenegro.

They decided to take this step after the Government failed to adopt the new General Collective Agreement (GCA) and increase employees' salaries, and after the police banned their rally announced for June 5 in Tivat, on the day of the EU-Western Balkans summit.

They announced at a press conference that they would not give up on adopting the new General Conditions of Employment.

The police prevented the unionists from protesting, but, as they said, their message that Montenegro is not a state of social dialogue and a state that listens to its employees has already reached the most important European addresses, such as the European Commission, Parliament, and the Council.

"Our goal was to call on European partners to point out to the Government that Montenegro cannot become a member of the European Union and the developed nations of Europe with this level of social dialogue," emphasized Srđa Keković, Secretary General of the USSCG.

The ban on peaceful union gatherings will not stop their insistence on adopting a new General Labor Code that would increase wages for over 100.000 employees. They have also filed a lawsuit against the police decision to ban their gathering:

"In their explanation, the police did not explain in a single word why Montenegrin workers as participants in the announced rally are presented as a risk that could not be prevented even with an increased police presence," said Ivana Mihajlović, Deputy Secretary General of the USSCG.

The USSCG say that Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is solely to blame for the fact that there is still no new OKU and that they have to demand workers' rights from the streets.

"He has been convincing us for five months that he has a better model than the one we proposed, but even after five months, that model has not yet seen the light of day," said Keković.

The USSCG does not believe the Prime Minister when he claims that the Government is in favor of increasing wages, and even if that happens, they believe it will not happen this year.

"We know that new elections are due next year, and I guess now we are waiting for that moment for someone to score those political points," said Keković.

Employees in Montenegro have been without a collective agreement since May 1, 2026, after negotiations between the government, employers and unions collapsed due to disagreements over wage increases and the increase in the calculation value of the coefficient. Due to this vacuum, over 100.000 workers in the private sector lost their guaranteed rights to increased daily wages for working on Sundays, double work and other special benefits.