Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Convention (n° 98) sur le droit d'organisation et de négociation collective, 1949 - Monténégro (Ratification: 2006)

Article 1 of the Convention. Adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination. In its previous comment, the Committee noted with satisfaction the adoption of several provisions in the revised Labour Law providing for protection against anti-union discrimination, including compensation, reinstatement and penalties for such acts. At the same time. the Committee also noted the allegations of the Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (UFTUM), which claimed that, in practice, adequate protection against acts of anti-union discrimination was lacking, referring to numerous cases involving trade union representatives and the absence of prosecution for such acts.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that labour inspection services examined three cases over the past three years concerning the reassignment of trade union representatives. In two of these cases, violations of section 196 of the Labour Law (which protects union representatives against such acts) were identified and corrective measures ordered. The third case, involving an employee of a government body, was referred to the competent authorities as it fell outside the labour inspectorate’s jurisdiction. The Committee further notes that the Government refers to 14 proceedings in the past two years before the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms concerning discrimination based on trade union membership. Moreover, the Government states that basic courts do not maintain separate records of anti-union discrimination cases, and that presiding judges indicated that they have not handled such cases. While taking due note of this information, the Committee observes that it has not received information on the application of section 209(1)(1) of the Labour Law (establishing fines in cases of prohibited discrimination based on membership and participation in employers’ and workers’ organizations), or more specific information on the types of anti-union discrimination identified. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 209(1)(1) of the Labour Law concerning anti-union discrimination cases, in particular the types of violations identified, the nature of the remedies applied and the amount of fines imposed. It also requests the Government to provide such information in respect of public servants not engaged in the administration of the State.

Articles 2 and 4. Legislative reform. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to ongoing legislative reform, undertaken in cooperation with representative trade union organizations and representative employers’ associations, aimed, among other things, at amending the Labour Law and drafting a new Law on the Representativeness of Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations. It further notes that a tripartite working committee has been engaged in preparing the relevant draft, and that ILO technical assistance was provided, including through a 2024 technical memorandum on the Labour Law. The Committee recalls that it previously requested the Government to take the following measures:

• adopt specific legislative provisions prohibiting acts of interference by employers or employers’ organizations, and to provide for rapid appeal procedures accompanied by effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions;
• amend sections 183 and 184(1) of the Labour Law to ensure that the Government may only participate in the negotiation of a general collective agreement on issues related to the minimum wage, and that other terms of employment are subject solely to bipartite collective bargaining;
• ensure that, in general, negotiations of collective agreements are carried out in a bipartite context, including in public enterprises (section 184(2)(b) of the Labour Law);
• substantially reduce or repeal the minimum representativeness thresholds for employers’ federations (section 198 of the Labour Law);
• ensure that the prerequisites for employers’ organizations to bargain at the national level are in line with the Convention, particularly regarding their freedom to affiliate or not to affiliate with international or regional organizations (section 12 of the Rulebook on the manner and procedure of registration of employers);
• revise the procedure for determining trade union representativeness at the company level, to ensure that such determination is carried out by an independent body that enjoys the confidence of the parties and offers every guarantee of impartiality (sections 18–20 of the Law on the Representativeness of Trade Unions);
• in relation to the above, ensure that an appeal is immediately possible through a rapid and effective procedure before an independent and impartial body, such as a competent court (sections 21–23 of the Law on the Representativeness of Trade Unions);
• consider removing sections 9(2) and 9(3)(2) of the Law on the Representativeness of Trade Unions to ensure that the membership of a trade union representative in a political party body or candidacy on an electoral list does not call into question the independence of the union as a whole, nor prevent it from attaining representative status and related rights.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that its comments were considered in the drafting of the new Law on the Representativeness of Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations and that they will be brought to the attention of the tripartite working group. The Committee also notes that the main objective of the drafting of the new Law is to review the criteria for determining the representativeness of trade unions and employers’ associations, but that the final provisions will depend on the consensus achieved by the social partners. Welcoming the technical assistance provided by the Office, the Committee trusts that the Government will take all necessary measures to ensure, in the context of the current legislative reform, that legislation is adopted that takes into account the above comments, with a view to giving effect to the principles of the Convention.

Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government, including its indication that, as at November 2024, a total of 31 collective agreements had been registered, including six sectoral agreements (concerning maritime transport, port handling services, nautical tourism ports, tourism and hospitality, student and pupil standards, education, construction and building, and telecommunications) and 23 employer-level agreements. The Committee welcomes this information and requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of collective agreements concluded and in force, specifying the different levels at which they were concluded (enterprise, sectoral or national level), including information on the number of workers covered by these agreements, as well as on any additional measures undertaken to promote the full development and utilization of collective bargaining under the Convention.