Negotiations regarding the new General Collective Agreement (OKU) in Montenegro will continue tomorrow, starting at 14:00 local time. Duško Zarubica, the General Secretary of the Trade Union Alliance of Montenegro, confirmed this in a statement to the media. The outcome of these talks is crucial for improving the working conditions of employees across the nation.
The discussions will assess how increasing the calculation value of the coefficient from €90 to €100 could impact the state budget. Previous unofficial estimates indicated that overall salary increases could reach between €70 and €80 million annually. However, this is not a final analysis, as the government would also benefit from increased tax revenues and contributions resulting from these salary increases.
Additionally, the public sector and state enterprises already operate under collective agreements that establish a coefficient calculation value of €100 or more. The unions are advocating for the increase of this coefficient, but they are also considering a comprehensive package of proposals put forth by employers and the government. These proposals include revising sick leave regulations, reducing the employer’s burden for sick leave from 60 to 30 days, and changes regarding employee rewards and Sunday work for retail businesses.
The existing General Collective Agreement, which outlines significant labor rights such as compensation for overtime and holiday work, severance packages, annual leave, and paid absences, expired on December 30, 2022. To ensure that approximately 100,000 employees, whose basic labor rights are not protected by sectoral collective agreements or individual contracts, do not lose their rights, lawmakers extended the validity of the existing agreement to March 31, 2023.
The calculation value of the coefficient, which forms the basis for salary calculations, has been set at €90 for 13 years without revision. The obligation under the General Collective Agreement dictates that this amount should be reviewed annually by December 31, considering inflation, the cost of living, and other economic factors. Yet, this adjustment has not occurred since the previous agreement was signed at the end of 2022.
According to the same clause of the agreement, if the parties do not reassess and agree on the calculation value by the stipulated date, the coefficient will remain at €90 for the following year.
Zarubica emphasized that the increase from €90 to €100 is necessary to retain the positive effects of the “Europe Now 1” and “Europe Now 2” initiatives, which have been disrupted by inflationary pressures. He also noted that the World Bank has called for a reduction in public spending and for salaries to remain at 2025 levels until 2026. Nevertheless, he believes that the budget expenditures for employee salaries resulting from the coefficient increase could be offset by internal reserves to prevent a rise in the overall budget.
In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Finance on December 11, the social partners outlined their position, highlighting the importance of adjusting the calculation value to support workers’ rights in Montenegro.
