The minister of labour, employment and social dialogue, Naida Nišić and the secretary general of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro, Mišela Manojlović held a meeting today regarding the initiative to amend the Labour Law, which the Union of Municipalities submitted during the previous year and again this year.
It was emphasized at the meeting that the initiative is of particular importance to local governments, as the Labour Law applies not only to employees of companies and institutions established by municipalities, but also to local civil servants and public employees in matters that are not regulated by the relevant systemic legislation.
The Union’s objective is to establish an adequate legal framework that will eliminate legal gaps and ensure a more favourable legal position and greater legal certainty for all entities subject to the Labour Law. Attention was drawn to the impact of the Law on the human resources policies of municipalities, particularly smaller ones, especially with regard to the suspension of employment rights and obligations. Concerns were also raised about provisions governing collective agreements that are not adequately adapted to the specific circumstances of local government. These shortcomings led, at the beginning of last year, to the Branch Collective Agreement for the Municipal Services and Housing Sector being declared unlawful, which adversely affected the operations of all municipal enterprises in that sector, particularly water utility companies.
Minister Nišić emphasized the importance of the Union’s views as the association representing the interests of all municipalities in Montenegro, given the large number of employees working in local administrations, as well as in municipal enterprises and institutions. She stressed that the Ministry’s current priority is the alignment of the Labour Law with European Union directives, but noted that this does not diminish the importance of the amendments proposed by the Union of Municipalities.
As a concrete next step, it was agreed that joint consultations would be held with the social partners on all issues of interest to municipalities, as these matters require their mutual agreement and coordination.
The Union’s initiative to amend the Labour Law proposes that, in recruitment procedures conducted through public vacancy announcements and competitions, proof of medical fitness should be required only from the selected candidate, thereby sparing other applicants unnecessary costs. In addition, it has been proposed that, when appointing an executive director through a public competition, the law should explicitly require the adoption of a selection decision prior to the formal appointment decision. This would help reduce the number of related court disputes.
An important part of the initiative concerns the more precise regulation of the service of documents by employers to employees, particularly in cases where employees unjustifiably refuse to accept them. This would help avoid procedural obstacles that have often resulted in employers losing labour disputes.
Particular attention was also given to the issue of equal treatment of local government officials with regard to the suspension of employment rights during their term of office. The proposed amendments would extend this right to include municipal assembly presidents, deputy mayors, chief administrators, assembly secretaries, managers, and other officials who perform their duties professionally and on a fixed-term mandate, rather than limiting it solely to mayors, municipal presidents, and secretariat secretaries as provided under the current law. This would eliminate an evident form of discrimination and ensure equal treatment for all local government officials and senior management personnel within local administrations.
The initiative also proposes a more detailed regulation of certain situations related to disciplinary proceedings in order to prevent the abuse of procedural rights and the expiry of limitation periods. In addition, it calls for explicit reference to the Law on Misdemeanours for all procedural matters not regulated by the Labour Law, such as recusal, reinstatement of procedural rights, and similar issues.
One of the most significant proposed amendments concerns collective agreements. The Union proposes a review of the legal provision on their direct applicability and the introduction of a deadline for aligning collective agreements with higher-ranking legislation whenever such alignment is required by law. Specifically, the salaries of municipal employees are currently regulated both by decisions adopted by municipal assemblies and by the Branch Collective Agreement for the Administration and Judiciary Sector, creating an evident inconsistency between the laws governing these matters.
The initiative calls for municipalities to be explicitly recognized as authorized signatories to branch collective agreements in companies of which they are the founders or majority owners. This would help prevent legal uncertainty and avoid challenges to the constitutionality and legality of such agreements, similar to the recent case involving the disputed Branch Collective Agreement for the Municipal Services and Housing Sector.
Through these proposals, the Union clearly expresses its intention to establish a partnership-based relationship with central government authorities in the preparation of legislation affecting municipalities and their interests.
The initiative comes at a time when many municipalities are facing challenges in implementing collective agreements, appointing directors, and addressing significant staffing shortages—particularly in communities with limited human resources capacity.
