UFTUM’s Press Release regarding the Central Bank’s recommendations to the Government of Montenegro for economic policy in 2021

“The latest attempt to repeal, under the guise of mitigating the negative consequences caused by the spread of coronavirus, provision 35a of the Law on Internal Trade, which finally allows all employees in trade to enjoy the right to a day off during a week, as well as on public and other holidays, is a matter of concern for the Union of Free Trade Unions od Montenegro. Such an appeal, completely unexpectedly, comes from the address of the Central Bank of Montenegro. The excuse for this recommendation is in the possibility of increasing employment, tax base, and indirectly the impact on exports. At the same, no data that would indicate reduction in revenue and number of employees in trade as a result of non-working Sunday and/or non-working on public and other holidays, is provided, nor any information that would indicate how the non-working Sunday directly or indirectly had a negative impact on exports. On contrary, it is proved that citizens if they cannot buy goods on Sunday, they will do that on another day in a week. On the other hand, the data are very clear when we talk about the fact that almost 40,000 employees in the trade sector, by October 2019, could not exercise the right guaranteed by the Constitution and international legal standards to dignified working conditions which, among other things, include limited working hours, the right to a day off during the week and a day off during public and other holidays, which rights are (at least should have been) guaranteed by the Labor Law and the Law on State and Other Holidays. Only with the amendments to the Law on Internal Trade in 2019, employees in this sector were enabled to exercise this right, which was unlawfully denied to them by many years of illegal actions of most employers and inaction of the competent authorities.

Despite the fact that the overall economic activity is facing numerous challenges due to the current epidemiological situation, it is indisputable that at the time of the epidemic a significant number of retail facilities were able to operate smoothly and generate revenue, often even on an increased scale! So, a huge number of employees in the trade, with an emphasis on grocery stores, were on the front line in these difficult days, and at the same time they were the last to be reduced working hours, and the first when it comes to “easing measures” and extending working hours. Should we “reward” them for such work by abolishing the non-working Sunday and the right to be with their families at least one day a week.

Bearing in mind that the CBM is responsible for “monetary and financial stability and the functioning of the banking system”, their interest in non-working Sunday is justifiably surprising. The UFTUM welcomes the CBM’s recommendation to “strengthen control over the observance of workers’ legal rights”, but we believe that the CBM clearly is not aware of the aforementioned violations of employees’ right to a day off during a week and the right to celebrate public and other holidays, because they themselves work in privileged working conditions. That is why we call on the CBM to dedicate itself to its departmental competencies in the future, at the same time we invite the Government of Montenegro not to accept the CBM’s recommendation to abolish the non-working Sunday, because it has no correlation with preserving the liquidity of the economy”.