Social dialogue in Montenegro
 

 
«Social dialogue in Montenegro»
 

 
by Dragan Ðurić
 

Source:  
SEER ­ South­East Europe Review for Labour and Social Affairs (SEER ­ South­East Europe Review  
for Labour and Social Affairs), issue: 03 / 2003, pages: 87­100, on www.ceeol.com.
 

The following ad supports maintaining our C.E.E.O.L. service 

 
Dragan Đurić

Social dialogue in Montenegro*

Legal regulations
Reforms in Montenegro have been implemented in an uneven and unsynchronised
manner. The lack of new, reformed, systemic laws was compensated over many years
with constant changes and amendments to the Republican laws and by Government
Decrees. In this way, the unregulated legal environment and the rule by decree have
created an atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity, privileged positions for certain
parts of the economic structure, corruption and nepotism. All of this has affected neg-
atively the business climate and the interest of foreign investors in investing in the
Montenegrin economy and, naturally, has also affected the problem of poverty.
The unregulated legal environment, rule by decree, uncertainty and the inequality
of employees in relation to the exercise of their rights in the workplace have had seri-
ous consequences on the activities of the social partners – the trade unions and organ-
isations of employers.
Montenegro is faced with the necessity of implementing further radical changes in
its labour and social legislation (labour relations, pension system, health protection
system) – exactly the segment of the transition which carries the biggest social price,
as reflected in mass redundancies, reductions in salaries and pensions, cutbacks in nu-
merous inherited social rights, etc.
The experience of other countries in transition shows that those which imple-
mented their reforms faster and in a more comprehensive way have overcome more
quickly the so-called transition recession period. Montenegro has postponed these
necessary changes for too long, thus making the conditions for their implementation
even more difficult. Now, the question is how to implement the necessary transition
changes in the field of labour and social legislation quickly and with minimum nega-
tive consequences, as this is a significant limiting factor to further transition proc-
esses. It is sufficient to mention that they guarantee to workers all those rights that the
existing economy is unable to support or, more accurately, finance.
How difficult and complex this process is can best be seen by looking at just one
part of the list of those laws which are currently implemented in Montenegro but
which need to be changed in order to implement the planned agenda for economic re-
form:

* Activities in line with the analysis in this article, based on a project of the Centre for the
Development of Industrial Democracy, have already started in co-operation with the so-
cial partners in Montenegro – the Union of Employers of Montenegro and SSSCG (the
Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Montenegro) – as well as with several
members of the existing Social and Economic Council of Montenegro. The project plans
that the Parliament of the Republic of Montenegro should receive a Proposal for a Law
on the Social and Economic Council of Montenegro by April 2004.

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 Dragan Đurić

1. Law on the fundamentals of labour relations (federal), Official Gazette (OG) No.
29/96
2. Law on labour relations, OG 29/90, 42/90, 28/91, 16/95
3. Law on labour inspection, OG 56/92, 20/95
4. Law on employment, OG 5/2002
5. Law on records in the field of labour (federal), OG 146/96
6. Law on protection at work (health and safety), OG 35/98
7. Law on strikes (federal), OG 29/96
8. Law on the fundamentals of pension and disability insurance (federal), OG 30/96,
70/2001, 3/2002
9. Law on pension and disability insurance, OG 14/83, 12/85, 14/89, 28/91, 18/92,
20/93
10. Law on the protection of FRY citizens working abroad (federal), OG 24/98
11. Law on the conditions for the establishment of employment with foreign citizens
(federal), OG 11/78, 64/89
12. Law on the state holidays of FRY (federal), OG 29/97, 63/2002
13. Law on the holidays of the Socialist Republic of Montenegro, OG 22/76
14. Law on religious holidays, OG 56/93
15. Law on health protection and health insurance, OG 39/90, 21/91, 30/92, 58/92, 6/
94, 27/94, 30/94, 16/95, 20/95, 22/95, 23/96
16. Law on social insurance contributions, OG 32/93, 3/94, 17/94, 42/94, 1/95, 13/96,
45/98
17. Law on personal income tax, OG 65/2001, 12/2002
18. Law on sanitary inspection, OG 56/92
19. Law on inspection control, OG 50/92
20. Law on salaries in the public sector, OG 28/91, 45/91
21. Law on civil servants, OG 45/91, 50/91
22. Law on the calculation of time (federal), OG 41/94, 29/97
23. Uniform nomenclature of professions (OG of FRY No: 31/90)
24. Decree on the conditions that trained personnel need to fulfil in order to engage in
entrepreneurial activities, OG 34/95, 35/95
25. Decree on the salaries of civil servants (OG of the Republic of Montenegro No:
41/97, 8/98)
26. Decree on the compensations and other incomes of civil servants, OG of the Re-
public of Montenegro No: 41/97
27. Decree on salaries, compensation and other incomes of workers in the Republic of
Montenegro, OG 3/94, 8/94, 20/94, 32/94, 16/95, 36/95, 14/96, 4/97, 9/97, 2/98
28. Rulebook on works rules, OG 1/83, 54/2001.
Apart from these documents, it is necessary to bear in mind the need to harmonise,
change or withdraw some fifty additional decrees of the government that have been
adopted in this field. Bearing in mind that the field of labour relations is more pre-
cisely defined through collective agreements, we should also consider, in an analysis
of the influence of labour legislation and social dialogue on the potential for poverty
reduction in Montenegro, the following documents:

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 Social dialogue in Montenegro

1. General Collective Agreement, Official Gazette of the Rep. of Montenegro (OG)

No. 35/95
2. Methodology for the definition of the minimum wage for basic work, OG 35/95
3. Special Collective Agreement for road and city transportation, OG 10/96
4. Special Collective Agreement for the railway of Montenegro, OG 18/96
5. Special Collective Agreement for workers in the PTT system of Montenegro, OG
18/96, 41/98
6. Special Collective Agreement for tourism and catering workers of Montenegro,
OG 24/96
7. Special Collective Agreement for the energy supply of Montenegro, OG 28/96
8. Special Collective Agreement for wood processing, OG 29/96
9. Special Collective Agreement for trade in Montenegro, OG 30/96
10. Special Collective Agreement for public pre-school institutions, OG 32/96
11. Special Collective Agreement for the primary schools of Montenegro, OG 32/96
12. Special Collective Agreement for the high schools of Montenegro, OG 32/96
13. Special Collective Agreement for the field of culture in Montenegro, OG 32/96
14. Special Collective Agreement for health and social protection in Montenegro. OG
32/96, 35/96
15. Special Collective Agreement for the forestry sector in Montenegro, OG 35/96
16. Special Collective Agreement for the University of Montenegro, OG 38/96
17. Special Collective Agreement for the Secretariat of CANU – the Montenegrin
Academy of Science and Arts, OG 38/96
18. Special Collective Agreement for the public institutions of student standards, OG
38/96
19. Special Collective Agreement for special schools and institutes, OG 38/96
20. Branch Collective Agreement for the metalworkers of Montenegro, OG 38/96
21. Branch Collective Agreement for the agriculture, food and tobacco industry of
Montenegro, OG 3/97
22. Branch Collective Agreement for the textile, leather, footwear, chemistry and rub-
ber industries of Montenegro, OG 8/97
23. Branch Collective Agreement for public works in Montenegro, OG 26/97
24. Branch Collective Agreement for the maritime activities of Montenegro, OG 30/
97
25. Branch Collective Agreement for the housing and communal activities of Mon-
tenegro, OG 40/97
26. Branch Collective Agreement for the information activities of Montenegro, OG
43/97
27. Branch Collective Agreement for the public Centre for eco-toxicological research
in Montenegro, OG 13/98
28. Branch Collective Agreement for the graphical and publishing sector of Montene-
gro, OG 14/98.
Existing regulations cover the rights of workers in many ways. The right to work in an
adequate post is set down (according to education and work experience), as is the
right to rest (breaks, daily rest, weekly rest, annual leave); the right to paid and unpaid

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 Dragan Đurić

leave; the right to protection at work; special rights for those below 18 years of age
and pregnant women, as well as women with children up to three years of age; special
protection for women and young people in relation to night work, overtime, difficult
physical activities and similar; the right to salaries and other compensation; the right
to pensions, health and insurance in the case of unemployment; the right to protection
in procedure before arbitration or court protection; etc.
However, problems occur in the particular implementation in practice of these
regulations and rights. For example, even though the Law guarantees workers the
monthly payment of their salaries, in accordance with the collective agreement, sala-
ries are not paid regularly due to the shortage of funds; that is, there are delays of sev-
eral months and even up to several years in the payment of salaries. According to data
obtained by SSSCG, over 30 000 workers in Montenegro, primarily in industry, are
not receiving their salaries regularly. In consequence, we have in Montenegro the
unique problem of the ‘employed poor’.
A separate problem is the amount of severance compensation for employees who
have been proclaimed technologically surplus. The Law guarantees, as one of the
rights for workers in this situation, the payment of compensation equal to 24 monthly
salaries, but this is paid with significant delays and, taking into consideration the low
average which is used as the basis of calculating the 24 monthly salaries, this compen-
sation becomes so small that dismissed workers cannot resolve the issue of new em-
ployment in a quality way. The anticipated new labour law prescribes reductions in
this compensation, which could cause additional problems for some categories of
worker.

Collective bargaining
General Collective Agreement
The General Collective Agreement in Montenegro is both a general and a national
one: national, because it is signed at the level of the Republic, that is, the state; gen-
eral, because it covers all employees and all employers. The existing General Collec-
tive Agreement came into effect on November 15 1995. Previously, there were two
General Collective Agreements in Montenegro: the General Collective Agreement for
organisations in social activities, public enterprises and state authorities; and the Gen-
eral Collective Agreement for the remainder of the economy. These were signed at
the end of 1990/beginning of 1991.
The parties that have signed the General Collective Agreement in Montenegro
are: the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Montenegro, the Government
of the Republic of Montenegro and the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro. The
subject matter of the General Collective Agreement relates to the labour relations sit-
uation of workers in the Republic and the obligations of the contracting parties, that
is, the Government, the Chamber and the Confederation. The Agreement contains the
following provisions: basic provisions; labour relations; protection of workers in the
workplace; salaries, compensation and other personal income; cessation of the need
for the work of employees; working conditions for the union; the signing and imple-

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 Social dialogue in Montenegro

mentation of collective agreements; the manner of resolving collective labour dis-

putes; and final provisions.
The Agreement defines the minimum wage for basic work and for full working
time and normal productivity at work. An employer cannot pay a worker a lower min-
imum wage than that defined in the negotiations between the contracting parties. The
elements for the definition of the minimum wage have been copied from ILO Con-
vention No. 131 on the determination of minimum wages and ILO Recommendation
No. 136 on the determination of minimum wages.
On the basis of this Agreement, the contracting parties form negotiation teams
which define the minimum wage. The minimum wage is determined on the basis of a
pre-determined methodology which contains the following elements: the needs of
employees and their families; the general salary level; the cost of living; the relative
level of the living standards of other social groups; and economic factors.
On the basis of multipliers to the minimum wage, the basic wage is calculated
from the following coefficients, with jobs grouped according to their level of diffi-
culty:
Group of jobs Qualification requirements Coefficient
I No expertise required Non-skilled worker 1.00
II Training of up to six months I degree 1.20
III Training of 6 mths to 2 yrs II degree 1.50
IV 2-3 yrs high school education III degree (skilled worker) 1.65
V 4+ yrs high school education IV degree 1.85
VI Specialist training following high school V degree (highly-skilled worker) 1.90
VII Further education VI degree 2.20
VIII Higher education VII degree 2.70
IX Post-graduate education VII-I degree 2.95
X PhD education VIII degree 3.20

It is necessary to mention that the General Collective Agreement facilitates in-

stances of so-called ‘forced leave’ – that is, temporary leave to cover natural disasters;
force majeure; shortage of business activity; repairs; production stoppages; reduced
scope for activity; cessation of work; or the inability to assign a person to an adequate
post. Where forced leave is instituted, the employee should receive a minimum 50%
of his or her basic wage. However, the category of forced leave is not recognised oth-
erwise either in theory or in practice and has significantly influenced the quality of the
labour market in Montenegro. Among other reasons; this is further proof of the need
for urgent changes to this collective agreement.
The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Montenegro has offered to the
government and the Chamber of Commerce the text for a new Proposal for a General
Collective Agreement; thus, it is expected that, after the adoption of the new labour

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 Dragan Đurić

law, the social partners will start working, together with the Government, on the de-
velopment of a new General Collective Agreement for Montenegro.

Sector collective agreements

Apart from the General Collective Agreement, sector collective agreements also exist
in Montenegro. This name is given because they are signed at the sectoral level and
the Law defines it as such, unlike the previous version which defined them as Special
Collective Agreements. In practice, the special and sectoral collective agreements are
essentially one and the same except for this definition of the term.
According to the needs of the General Collective Agreement, between mid-1996
and the beginning of 1998, 26 sectoral collective agreements were signed, as follows:
road and city transportation; the railway of Montenegro; workers in the PTT system;
tourism and catering workers; energy supply; wood processing; trade; public pre-
school institutions; primary schools; high schools; the field of culture; health and so-
cial protection; forestry; the University of Montenegro; the Secretariat of CANU –
Montenegrin Academy of Science and Arts; public institutions of student standards;
and special schools and institutes.
Elsewhere, sector agreements are the most important type of collective agree-
ments globally, but here they still do not have that level of importance. However, with
the development of the market economy and social partnership they will surely be-
come gradually more and more important.

Collective agreements with employers

The individual collective agreement is an agreement (in a company or an institution),
signed between the trade union organisation and the employer, covering the rights and
responsibilities of the workers and the employer. Individual collective agreements are
defined as such in the General Collective Agreement, although it would be better to
call it a collective agreement with an employer, as it is the ‘heir’ of the general acts
that, especially during socialist times, regulated labour relations more closely.
Individual collective agreements in Montenegro are not typical in relation to the
parties that sign them, as the interests of the employer are not represented by the As-
sociation of Employers but by the employer as a legal entity in its own right; that is,
such collective agreements are signed on behalf of, and to the account of, the em-
ployer concerned by the director of the company and the trade union organisation
within it.
No collective agreements have been signed in the public sector, that is, in public
institutions financed from the Treasury. This is explained by there being only one em-
ployer for all public institutions.
The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Montenegro has no precise
data on how many individual collective agreements have been signed, or on how
many employers and employees they cover.

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Employment contract
The Law defines the obligation of an employer to sign an employment contract with a
person being hired before that person starts working, and to report that employment to
the organisations in charge of employment affairs, pensions and disability insurance
and health insurance. After the signing of the employment contract, the worker has
the right to start work and assumes the rights, obligations and responsibilities on the
basis of employment.
In relation to the relationship between the employment contract and the collective
agreement, it is necessary to mention that the law says that the employment contract
cannot grant fewer rights and less favourable working conditions than the rights and
the conditions defined by the law and the collective agreement. In the system of la-
bour relations, there is a principle that the more concrete legal norms cannot be less
favourable for employees than the general ones; that is, the norm of a lower hierarchi-
cal level cannot define a lower level of rights and more unfavourable working condi-
tions than the norm for a higher level in the hierarchy. This principle is the basis for
the relationship between the General Collective Agreement and the sectoral and indi-
vidual ones, and the employment contract.

Minimum wage
The law defines an obligation to negotiate a minimum wage with employers. The
General and sectoral collective agreements say that the minimum wage, in accordance
with the individual collective agreement, is defined with the employer. The wage for
an individual job is not precisely defined in the General Collective Agreement, but
consists of the minimum wage multiplied by the coefficient of difficulty of the job,
any premia on the basis of working conditions being more difficult than normal and,
sometimes, also on the basis of responsibility.
The starting point for the calculation of the needs of an average family of four is
the value of the necessary products for the family; that is, the value of the ‘consumer
basket’ determined by official statistics. The value of that consumer basket is deter-
mined on the basis of the quantities and prices of 65 food and beverage products in
the specific month.
The other necessities for a family of four (housing, clothes and footwear, transpor-
tation, health and hygiene, education and culture, sports and recreation, etc) increase
the value of this consumer basket by 40% since, at the time when the General Collec-
tive Agreement was signed, it was determined that the average family spends some
60% of its income on food and 40% on other expenses. This ratio has not been
changed since 1995, neither has the average employment coefficient of 1.7.
The methodology does not prescribe an automatic definition of the minimum
wage, but its amount is determined by a negotiatory body consisting of the authorised
representatives of the signatories of the General Collective Agreement, on the basis of
defined elements and conditions.
An important characteristic of the minimum wage is that it serves as a basis for
various types of social assistance, treasury expenditure and even some fines in Mon-
tenegro. The minimum wage in Montenegro is currently Euro 50.

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 Dragan Đurić

Strikes
In the past few years, strikes have been organised quite frequently, as a form of the
struggle for the improvement in workers’ professional and economic position. In that
context, it is necessary to mention the major problems that occur in the organisation
of strikes, the non-existence of a quality negotiations process in situations leading up
to strikes and, naturally, the lack of funds to respond to the needs of workers, whether
it involves their demands during a strike, or their legal rights which they are unable to
exercise in companies where they work. For that reason, the common and lengthy
strikes do not result in improvements in the professional and economic position of
workers but, on the contrary, they have negative consequences (in the even more dif-
ficult economic position of companies, etc). It is especially important to mention the
non-existence of social dialogue and social partnership, as well as the non-existence
of a culture of negotiations among management and trade union structures. This is a
significant cause of the numerous strikes but, at the same time, it makes their organi-
sation and management more difficult. There are many strikes in companies where
workers are majority shareholders (which happened through so-called worker partici-
pation in share ownership and then also through mass voucher privatisation); thus, it
is obviously necessary to undertake serious education activities to inform the social
partners about modern forms of corporate management, as well as the separation but,
at the same time, integration between the interests of labour and capital.
The new law on strikes resolves one part of the problems related to the organisa-
tion of strikes but does not resolve the problem of the non-existence of social dialogue
which is, actually, the key political cause of strikes. In conditions where strikes are
predominantly caused by the non-payment of salaries over several months, the most
common reason for the organisation of strikes in Montenegro is the inability to estab-
lish quality social dialogue which provides workers with information and consultation
on the current situation of their companies.

Tripartism
Economic and Social Council of Montenegro
Montenegro was the last in the region of south-east Europe to establish a Social and
Economic Council. This first tripartite institution in Montenegro was established
through government decree which was adopted in 2001. The General Collective
Agreement in Montenegro is agreed and signed by the Government, SSSCG and the
Chamber of Commerce, the composition of the Social and Economic Council of
Montenegro accordingly includes representatives of all these organisations. The Gov-
ernment adopted the decree establishing the Social and Economic Council on Febru-
ary 1 2001, but the inaugural session of the Council was not held until the beginning
of 2002. During that year, the Council held three sessions.
The government decree defines the following tasks of the Council:
• to follow, stimulate and analyse economic and social activities
• to make proposals on the definition and implementation of economic and social
policy

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 Social dialogue in Montenegro

• to analyse and make proposals on the reforms that it finds necessary for the transi-
tion of society and for its technological development
• to analyse plans for economic and social activities and to make proposals on their
harmonisation, and to take initiatives to find ways for the realisation of these
adopted plans
• to analyse draft laws and other regulations in the economic and social sphere and
to assess their harmonisation and compatibility with modern trends and EU stand-
ards
• to analyse Budget proposals and the final Budget of the Republic
• to prepare studies in the economic and social sphere
• to analyse other issues and proposals that contribute to the improvement of eco-
nomic and social activities.
The Council has established seven sections consisting of Council members, as fol-
lows:
1. production, research and development
2. labour and social issues
3. transition of the society
4. agriculture, food industry and forestry
5. economy and finance
6. environmental protection
7. foreign relations.
The Presidents of these sections are members of the Presidency of the Council. The
Council, according to the government decree, has 38 members in total, out of which
35 were elected at the inaugural session (in 2001), while the remaining three have yet
to be elected. The members of the Council are as follows:
• seven representatives of workers, appointed by the Confederation of Independent
Trade Unions of Montenegro
• seven representatives of business, appointed by the Chamber of Commerce of
Montenegro
• seven renowned experts and public figures, appointed by the government of Mon-
tenegro
• three representatives of the agriculture and tourism sectors, appointed by their as-
sociations
• four fund representatives, appointed by the Pension Fund, the Development Fund,
the Health Fund and the Employment Agency of Montenegro
• one representative of the banks, appointed by the Banking Association
• five representatives of labour, education and health, appointed by the Ministry of
Labour, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the University of
Montenegro
• three representatives of NGOs, appointed by NGOs themselves
• one representative of the diaspora, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The manner of establishment and the composition of the Social and Economic Coun-
cil show the basic mistakes of construction that disable this authority from having any
more significant influence on the processes of social and economic development, as

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 Dragan Đurić

well as on the quality of the social dialogue in Montenegro. All these problems can be
put down to the core problems of legitimacy and representation of the social partners
that it encompasses.

Problems of institutionalisation and the true implementation of tripartism

Namely, the Chamber of Commerce is an organisation based on the legal obligation
of all enterprises to pay contributions to finance the work of the Chamber. There were
no true employers’ organisations at the beginning of the nineties, so the Chamber took
on the role of social partner although it lacks the necessary capacity to do so. After the
Association of Employers of Montenegro was established, some, more or less open,
conflicts between the Chamber and the Association have occurred. The existing com-
position of the Social and Economic Council does not fulfil international standards, so
this issue is becoming more and more important. The international standards in this
field are prescribed by the ILO (Recommendation No. 113 on consultation at the level
of industries and at the national level, from 1960; Convention No. 144 on tripartite
consultation – international labour standards, from 1976; and Recommendation No.
152 on tripartite consultation, from 1976, etc.). In these documents, it is defined,
among other things, that the social partners can only be the voluntary organisations of
workers and employers, and not the chambers of commerce which exist on the basis
of the legal obligation of companies to pay contributions to them.
The establishment of the Economic and Social Council in Montenegro is a result
of the attempt of Montenegro to adjust to the so-called European social model. Unlike
the predominantly bipartite model of co-operation between the world of labour and
the world of capital in the USA, for example, in European countries the role in this
process of the third actor – the state – is significantly developed. Sometimes, this kind
of relationship between the worlds of labour and of capital is called neo-corporatism
or, more commonly, tripartism. In western Europe, the development of neo-corporat-
ism was always closely related to social democratic policy. It contributed to political
stabilisation and the economically-based political and, one could even say, class com-
promises. Clearly, neo-corporatism, that is, tripartism, is more than the mere exist-
ence of those bodies in which the state works together with the representatives of
workers and employers. It is a modern, European approach, a social and political
model for the integration of labour and politics.
However, the precondition for the development of tripartism is a well-developed
bipartism. (This involves direct social dialogue between the representatives of work-
ers and employers). So, when tripartism does not have even its basic precondition –
the developed mechanisms of bipartite dialogue – as is the case in Montenegro, then
this type of industrial relations is much more dependent on current political processes
within the state. Unlike western countries, where bipartite social partnership is much
better established, both institutionally and politically, and where it has thus resulted in
the creation of tripartite negotiation structures, countries in transition have institution-
alised tripartism relatively quickly,1 but based on a weak and problematic bipartism.
A result of their functioning without a strong bipartite basis is that the national trade
unions and employers associations are, rightfully, subject to criticism that they are not

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 Social dialogue in Montenegro

sufficiently representative; that is, they are unable to transform their activities at the
tripartite level into concrete activities at the level of individual sectors or individual
companies. Nevertheless, the introduction of the system is not at all easy. In the coun-
tries of western Europe, the autonomous activities of the social partners have been
gradually transferred into legal regulations; that is, the social partners themselves
have fought for the existing level of social dialogue which was, thereafter, incorpo-
rated into the economic, social and political life of these countries and then institu-
tionalised and legalised. On the other hand, within countries in transition there has
been an obvious attempt to implement the process in reverse – to create the institu-
tional preconditions for social dialogue and, thereby, to secure this in real life. In
countries in transition, the institutions of tripartism have been developed parallel with
those within the European Union, but it has been, most often, more a part of the over-
all environment of a façade democracy. Montenegro, with its Economic and Social
Council, is an almost typical example.
The Economic and Social Council has a very modest budget and insufficient
funds for its activities, but its members receive monthly compensation for their
‘work’ on the Council. These are just some of the reasons why the Economic and So-
cial Council of Montenegro only barely resembles a body for the tripartite harmonisa-
tion of the different views of the legitimate social partners, but is much closer in real-
ity to the round table model: a discussion group or Q&A meeting with no concrete
conclusions or agreements, or which draws conclusions that are not binding on any-
one. It is clear that, when the Council was established, a mistake was made which has
created problems with its legitimacy and the financing of its work which has, in turn,
resulted in the current existence of the Council solely as a democratic façade, with no
real influence either on economic and social development in Montenegro or on the
prevention of industrial and social conflicts and collective labour disputes.
In Montenegro, we are now preparing a whole set of reforms in the field of labour
and social legislation which has serious social consequences, so the role of the Eco-
nomic and Social Council will have to increase. As it stands, the Council cannot re-
spond to those challenges. For that reason, it will be necessary to initiate the adoption
of a special law on the Economic and Social Council that would establish this body
accordance with international standards and the needs of the new labour legislation in
Montenegro. This law should contain criteria for the representativeness of the social
partners in order to prevent future conflicts within the trade union movement and the
increasing number of employers’ organisations in Montenegro. Additionally, this new
Law should prescribe the conditions, manners and models of participation of overall
civil society (NGOs) in the discussions about the economic and social development of
Montenegro.

1 The first institutions of tripartism in countries in transition were established as early as

the beginning of the 90s.

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 Dragan Đurić

Conclusions and recommendations

Speed up the reforms of the labour legislation
1. Adoption of modern labour and social legislation is a necessary precondition for
the successful functioning of the market economy and for the speedy preparations
in Montenegro to start negotiations related to accession to the EU. For that reason,
it is necessary for the Montenegrin Parliament to ratify the European Social Char-
ter as well as a number of ILO Conventions, primarily those related to the right to
collective bargaining and bipartite consultation.
2. Harmonisation of labour legislation with European social law is one of the main
preconditions for the faster inclusion of Montenegro into European integration
processes. For that reason, an important precondition is greater liberty and a
greater influence of collective bargaining and the social dialogue. In particular, bi-
partite and tripartite harmonisation is needed in order to achieve the social cohe-
sion required for the more successful economic and social reforms, and in order to
achieve pluralism, a democratic and stable system of industrial relations, and in
order to reduce the negative social effects of privatisation and the reforms.
3. Having in mind the relatively large problem of unpaid salaries, the new labour
legislation should define a realistic possibility for the exercise of the rights of
workers to guaranteed salaries through the creation of a special payment fund in
accordance with ILO Convention No. 131.
4. The system of the legal protection of the rights of workers is very inefficient, so it
is necessary to establish as quickly as possible labour courts, as specialised, pro-
fessional institutions that protect in the most efficient and comprehensive manner
the individual and collective rights of workers. Also, the administrative protection
of workers through the labour inspectorate is not providing the desired results;
thus, the labour inspectorate should be given greater authority, in accordance with
ILO Convention No. 81.

Further development of the social dialogue

1. It is necessary to create the systemic conditions for greater freedom in collective
bargaining and in bipartite and tripartite negotiation. Labour relations and social
legislation have to be improved in order to adopt and implement international la-
bour standards (including the signing of ILO Convention 144 on tripartite consul-
tation and Convention 154 on the improvement of collective bargaining), and they
also need to be harmonised with the European social model.
2. It is necessary to develop the culture of social dialogue and social partnership to
implement a philosophy of bargaining, compromise and responsibility among the
new private employers and their associations, as well as among the trade unions,
as the fundamental elements of a democratic, pluralist system of industrial rela-
tions. The new employers should accept trade unions and tripartism, and the gov-
ernment should take a leading role in the promotion of this process.
3. Tripartism and social dialogue have proven to be the most efficient methods for
the development of industrial democracy. No economic system can survive and

98 South-East Europe Review 3/2003

 Social dialogue in Montenegro

develop without social dialogue – the participation of the social partners in the
preparation and adoption of decisions on the basic directions of economic and so-
cial development. This is especially important in the case of Montenegro, which is
faced with the problems of a late transition and a devastated economy.
4. The social dialogue is a necessary precondition for the creation and implementa-
tion of economic policy with a social dimension in conditions of the transition to-
wards a market economy and structural adjustment. Precisely through the devel-
opment of tripartite relations and the social dialogue it is possible to achieve the
necessary social consensus needed for the successful implementation of reforms
in Montenegro. In that sense, the establishment of the Economic and Social Coun-
cil, as done in Montenegro, is not enough. This body should become legitimate
and have legitimate representatives on it. It has to be provided with the funds nec-
essary for regular and continuous activities related to the resolution of the most
important issues related to the economy and the needs of the population in gen-
eral.

Adoption of the Law on the Social and Economic Council

1. For that reason, it is necessary to adopt the law on the Economic and Social Coun-
cil that would establish this body in accordance with international standards and
the needs of the new labour legislation in Montenegro.
2. The new law must contain criteria for the representativeness of the social partners,
in order to prevent future conflicts between the trade unions and the increasing
number of employers organisations.
3. The new law should prescribe the conditions, manners and models of participation
of overall civil society (NGOs) in discussions on the economic and social devel-
opment of Montenegro.
4. The social partners and NGOs have to participate actively in the preparation of the
new law.

References
MONET, No. 8, April 2002, Podgorica.
Darmanović, Srđan (1998): ‘Montenegrin post-communist regime’, in: Montenegro
through elections, Association of Students of Montenegro, Prijepolje.
Đurić, Dragan (1999): ‘The Shadow Economy: Between Authority and Crime’,
South-East Europe Review for Labour and Social Affairs Volume 2 Number 1,
April 1999.
Đurić, Dragan (1999): ‘Proces tranzicije i sindikat u Crnoj Gori’ (The Transition
Process and the Trade Union in Montenegro), within the collection the Role of
Trade Unions in Transition – CPS-CPA, Beograd.
Economic Institute (1998): Analysis of the shadow economy in FRY accompanied
with assessment estimates for 1997 and recommendations for its legalisation,
Belgrade.

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 Dragan Đurić

Keković, Vladimir (2002): Vrijeme meteza ‘88/89 (Time of uproar ‘88/89), Cultural
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