Montenegro’s annual budget allocation for employment subsidies for people with disabilities had been spent months ago, and payment delays have left some people unable to receive wages for months, European Alliance MP Boris Mugoša warned. He said people with disabilities had contacted him about the unpaid wages.
In a question to Labour, Employment and Social Dialogue Minister Naida Nišić, Mugoša asked whether the budget contains enough money for the subsidies and how payments are scheduled. He also sought details of any delays and their duration, and has again requested a parliamentary hearing of the minister and the director of the Employment Agency of Montenegro (ZZZCG).
Publicly available information cited by Mugoša indicated that the annual allocation had been spent a few months ago. He recalled warning government representatives during debate on each annual budget, including this year’s, that planned funding would not be sufficient. The government did not provide enough funding in the budget, according to his account, while Parliament adopted his proposed conclusion obliging the government to secure the required money by rationalising certain unproductive budget expenditures.
Mugoša initiated a hearing on the issue a few years ago and says the payment problem is causing considerable dissatisfaction among people with disabilities. He also argued that employers attempting to abuse the legal option should be penalised, rather than people with disabilities, and that they must not become victims of inadequate state monitoring. “People with disabilities who want to use their work potential must not suffer,” he said.
