The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Dialogue is conducting analyses and communicating with relevant partners to introduce the seven-hour workday as soon as possible, said Minister Naida Nišić in an appearance on the RTCG show Link. She stated that the implementation of this policy depends on an agreement with social partners.
“The Ministry is working on the analysis and communicating with partners, so citizens should know that the initiative to introduce a seven-hour workday has not been abandoned and will be fully implemented. We hope to have the support of our social partners. We have the support of trade unions, but we need to negotiate with employers. We hope to finalize this matter soon,” said Nišić.
Regarding the timeline, Nišić emphasized that the final decision on the implementation of the seven-hour workday depends on the agreement with social partners.
She also expressed her firm belief that social benefits must be increased. “I strongly believe that colleagues from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Demography and Family Care will resolve this by the beginning of next year. There are no problems in that regard,” said Nišić.
During the interview, Nišić also discussed the backlog of obligations to workers from companies such as Boksit, Radoje Dakić, Prva Petoljetka and KAP, as well as new projects aimed at employing young people.
“Before I entered politics and took this position, I followed the situation of workers because unfortunately, my parents and many people in Pljevlja were among them. However, I didn’t realize how many people in Montenegro have been struggling for their rights for the past 20 years. Unfortunately, they have been addressing the relevant authorities but have faced a wall of silence from various institutions. I truly understand their frustration. We are working hard to ensure that we don’t discriminate, and I hope that during our mandate, we will address all the claims of former workers and correct a longstanding injustice that has lasted at least 20 years,” Nišić remarked.
She emphasized that the government had approved a decision to connect the working periods for former workers from Boksit and Željezara so they can claim their rights from the Pension and Disability Fund.
“I hope that by the end of this week, we will sign the agreement between the Ministry, the Labor Fund and the union representatives authorized by the workers,” Nišić added.
The Minister also highlighted that work is still ongoing to resolve the issues for workers from Prva Petoljetka and Primorka Bar. One of the priorities is connecting workers’ pension periods.
“A large number of workers are facing issues with pension period connection, and besides that, many workers have not received severance pay or have outstanding salary debts. We are working within the Ministry and setting up a commission to assess the documentation. This is not an easy task, but we aim to resolve it,” Nišić explained.
While the responsibility for helping these workers is heavy, Nišić said it also brings a sense of privilege. “We are all empathetic and have put ourselves into this task to find the best solution for these workers. It is a heavy burden, but also a great satisfaction,” Nišić concluded.
Regarding the workers of Košuta, Nišić confirmed that they will be able to claim their rights through the Labor Fund. “A large number of citizens have submitted requests, and now the Labor Fund is in the process of appointing a new director to continue signing the resolutions and making payments. This should be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of next year, so we expect outstanding claims to be settled soon,” she said.
Additionally, Nišić noted that almost 90 former workers from the Aluminum Combine have received payments based on court rulings, which they had been waiting for over 13 years. “We are currently working on the housing fund of the Aluminum Combine, which had been confiscated from them,” she explained.
Finally, commenting on the results of the local elections in Berane, where the PES-SNP coalition won 33.4% of the vote and secured 13 mandates, Nišić called it another victory for the movement. “This is just one in a series of victories, and the Movement will show its full potential even more in the future,” she concluded.
