Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope. Part-time workers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report indicating that the Labour Law applies to all types of employment contracts, including those for household work, temporary and occasional jobs. The Government also indicates that part-time workers are governed by the Law on Obligations. The Committeerequests the Government to clarify how the Law on Obligations may be guaranteeing that part-time workers benefit from the protections of the Convention. Please also indicate whether other relevant legislative frameworks and policy measures giving effect to the Convention apply to part-time workers.

Articles 3 and 4. National policy. Leave entitlements and working arrangements. The Committee notes the adoption of the National Gender Equality Strategy 2021-2025. The Government also indicates that: (1) amendments to the Labour Law are underway to harmonise the legislation with the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on work-life balance for parents and carers; and (2) these amendments will establish minimum requirements regarding paternity leave, parental leave and leave for care providers, as well as minimum requirements regarding flexible working conditions for employees who are parents or care providers. It further notes that the Government acknowledges that public policies in Montenegro are not sufficiently oriented towards gender equality, despite the Act on Gender Equality prescribing an assessment of the impact of decisions on the position of women and men. The Committee therefore requests the Government to: (i) step up its efforts to mainstream gender equality into relevant public policies; (ii) ensure that persons with family responsibilities, who are engaged or wish to engage in employment, can exercise their right to do so, without conflict between their work and family responsibilities; and (iii) provide statistics, disaggregated by sex, on the extent to which workers make use of the care-related leave entitlements, both in the public and private sectors. Please provide information on progress made to harmonise the national legislation with the above-mentioned 2019 Directive on work-life balance for parents and carers.

Social security. Further to the Committee’s previous request, the Government states that, during unpaid leave, parents have the right to health and pension insurance until the child reaches 3 years of age. The Committee takes note of this information.

Article 5. Child-care and family services and facilities. The Committee previously noted that schools are only required to establish morning kindergarten for first graders. The Government outlines measures taken to progressively enrol all the children in extended stays, referencing in particular the National Strategy on Preschool Education (2021–2025) which seeks to strengthen public childcare services by improving the quality, coverage and equity of preschool education. Additionally, the Government reports advancements in expanding care services and institutions for children with developmental disabilities and for the elderly. The Committee asks the Government to report on the impact of these initiatives and the progress made in that regard.

Article 6. Information and education. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) that the National Gender Equality Strategy 2021–2025 includes measures that aim to raise public awareness of the need for a more even distribution of care for children and the elderly. The Committee requests the Government to provide more specific information on these measures and to indicate the authorities responsible for their implementation.

Article 7. Integration in the labour force.In the absence of information communicated in this regard, please indicate what measures have been taken, including in the field of vocational guidance and training, to enable workers with family responsibilities to become and remain integrated in the labour force, as well as to re-enter the labour force after an absence due to those responsibilities.

Article 8. Protection against dismissal. In response to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that section 123(5) of the Labour Law introduced a protection of employees with fixed-term contract, irrespective of the duration of an employment contract. Under this provision, if a fixed-term employee’s contract expires while the employee is on maternity leave, the contract will be extended until expiry of the maternity leave. The Committee takes note of this information.

Articles 9 and 11. Collective agreements and participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. Further to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government outlines some of the measures included in collective agreements aimed at helping workers balance their work and family responsibilities, mostly through leave provisions and flexible working arrangements set out in the General Collective Agreement and the Branch Collective Agreement for the Administration and Judiciary. Additionally, the Government indicates that social partners are actively involved in the working group tasked with drafting amendments to the Labour Law. Any proposed amendments to the Labour Law will be discussed in the Social Council of Montenegro. Furthermore, a positive opinion from the Social Council is required before any draft can be submitted to the Government for approval. This inclusive approach ensures that all proposed solutions are the result of social dialogue and compromise. The Committee takes note of this information.

Enforcement and practical application. The Committee notes with regret the absence of information in this regard. It therefore asks again the Government to provide: (i) information on any administrative or judicial decisions relating to the application of the Convention; and (ii) statistics, disaggregated by sex, and studies, surveys or reports that may enable the Committee to assess how the principles of the Convention are applied in practice.