| A New Collective Bargaining Agreement (“GCBA”) was signed last week in Montenegro. The new GCBA introduces a broader scope of existing labour rights and has also included several additional rights. Subsequently, many questions have come up and are expected to be answered through their application in the upcoming period.
The GCBA comes into force on 30 March 2014 and Montenegrin employers must take care of the entire set of new employment rights and employers obligations. The main features of the GCBA are as follows:
- Additional situations where employment contract annexes may be applied have been envisaged (e.g. as a manner of extension of definite term employment up to 24 months totally; transfer from part time to full time working hours; the introduction of non-competition clauses etc.);
- Annual leave increase has been regulated in a more detailed manner;
- New grounds for paid and unpaid leave have been introduced and a minimum duration for leave has been determined;
- Calculation of the salary is very complex and is based on elements envisaged in the former GCBA as well – the initial part of a salary (meal allowance + 1/12 of annual leave allowance), coefficient value (currently 90 EUR gross, but subject to change in the coming period) and job coefficient the minimum of which is determined in the GCBA. Each of these elements should be taken into consideration when calculating an employee’s salary;
- The amount of a salary increase and salary compensation for specific grounds has been introduced;
- Disciplinary proceeding for a breach of working duties has been regulated in a detailed manner;
- New grounds for the termination of employment, in addition to grounds determined by the law, have been introduced (e.g. breach of non-competition clause, misuse of medical leave, criminal offence in relation to work, etc.);
- Payment of 0.2% of an employee’s salary to the account of a Montenegrin representative trade union, for work disability prevention and recreational leave has been introduced. This obligation does not apply to employers that are, according to the branch CBAs, obliged to pay these funds to an account of the branch trade union.
The introduction of new grounds for the termination of employment appears as one of the most disputable issues of the new GCBA. Moreover, the obligation to issue a termination warning letter in specific cases of termination, where according to the law such an obligation would exist, has been cancelled (e.g. breach of non-competition clause, violent behaviour of the employee). The Labour Law does not envisage the possibility for such alteration of provisions related to termination of employment and provisions of the GCBA should not be less favourable for employees than provisions of the Labour Law.
Accordingly, it is doubtful whether the subject provisions of the GCBA are lawful at all. In addition, it is not clear whether the intention of the parties to the GCBA was to have disciplinary procedures in some of these specific cases of employment termination or not.
The GCBA shall be valid for a 2 year period, while branch CBAs must be harmonised with the GCBA within a 6 month deadline. CBAs at the employer must be harmonised with the GCBA and branch CBAs within an additional 3 month deadline.
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