The Railway Transport of Montenegro (ŽPCG) dismissed workers who did not want to sign an annex to the employment contract, which would oblige them not to work for that company and competing companies at the same time, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.
The same source claims that the train driver and car inspector were fired, and that more ŽPCG employees will be removed from their jobs on the same basis in the coming days.
Railway traffic was normalized for a short time today, but trains on the route Podgorica - Nikšić and Bar - Bijelo Polje are not running again, so passengers are still taking buses tonight.
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"Vijesti" announced this morning that ŽPCG trains are not running for three days due to obstructions by some workers, who are stopping traffic because they do not want to sign the annexes to the employment contract and thereby commit themselves to no longer being able to do the same jobs in ŽPCG and at private companies .
Until today, ŽPCG claimed that the trains were malfunctioning, while the executive director of ŽPCG, Dragana Lukšić, did not confirm that employees of that company were also disrupting traffic. At the press conference, she accused the workers of deliberate obstruction and emphasized that it is uncertain when regular train traffic will be established.
"The smallest detail - we immediately shut down the train from traffic, that's what it's all about. That was possible, but suddenly it is not possible, two trains are waiting, we transport passengers by alternative transport, which means higher costs for us," she pointed out.
The defects are not minor
From the Unified Union of Railway Transport, however, they claim that the trains are defective. Miroslav Babović from this union told "Vijesti" television that there are no minor faults and that they will not take passengers on trains that threaten their safety.
The trigger for these problems was the initiative of the Ministry of Transport, which at the end of October asked the railway inspectorate to check whether ŽPCG workers, without the consent of the authorities, perform the same work in state and private companies. The inspector determined that part of the workers were working in two companies in parallel, and in mid-November, he ordered this company to urgently make annexes to the employment contract, in order to put an end to this.
Part of the trade unionists believe that these annexes are illegal, so they have announced the filing of criminal charges and private lawsuits, and they are also demanding higher wages. They told "Vijesti" television that the basic salary of a train driver is around 630 euros, while with allowances it exceeds 800 euros.
"We were asked to sign annexes to the contract in order to increase the wages of the people who should be part of its management team. We did not accept that because we asked for it to be increased where it should be increased," said the president of the ŽPCG train drivers' union, Dejan Žarić.
Lukšić added that the annexes for salary increases for the management did not get the green light, and that even the workers will not get higher wages due to the financial situation of ŽPCG. She pointed out to cause them problems ten workers, with whom they did not come to an agreement because they asked for a salary increase of 200 euros.
She plastically explained how the obstructions happen, i.e. the train starts from Belgrade, then inspectors check it in Belgrade, Prijepolje, Bijelo Polje and Podgorica, and then stop it in Bar and exclude it from traffic.
"In cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and inspectors, we are determining to see if this is the case. It is true that the train drivers, car inspectors, maneuverers, asked for a salary increase of up to 200 euros. When we take the gross amount, it is on a monthly level some 296 thousand euros, ŽPCG is simply not able to increase earnings," Lukšić emphasized.
Minister of Transport Maja Vukićević also announced the sabotage of the trains on Facebook, saying that the trains are old but that the stoppages are the work of a few people, who want to cause chaos through blackmail, manipulation and avoiding work obligations.
She also stated that at the beginning of her mandate, she told the management of ŽPCG that the safety of passengers comes first and that in case of suspected malfunction, they park the trains before risking the lives of passengers. She emphasized that the trains were nevertheless thrown out of service due to a failure of the faucet in the toilet.
"A month ago, it was reported to the Ministry that employees of ŽPCG continue to work for a private carrier without rest after their shift. The Ministry, in accordance with its competences, sent an inspection which stated that some drivers of ŽPCG drive trains for a private carrier, without the consent of their company. An even bigger problem is that they did it without a break, thereby violating the Railway Act and endangering the safety of railway traffic which would oblige the workers not to work for a private carrier without their consent. The result is that a part of the workers tried to force the management to raise their wages by blackmail without constructive discussions, stating that they have to be met because they do not exist on the labor market people who would replace them. If the Board of Directors and the management do not find a way to solve this situation and prosecute the organizers of the sabotage, who are suspected of having criminally conspired to create panic and prevent traffic, the Ministry will be forced to take radical steps to resolve the situation," emphasized Vukićević.
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