25 April 2019 - During the term of office of this Government, more than 15,000 new jobs have been created. As the Prime Minister, I am proud of this result, Prime Minister Duško Marković said at the Prime Minister's Questions session, which took place in the Parliament of Montenegro.
Answering a question about what the Government has done to improve the rights and quality of life of workers, Prime Minister Marković said that the Government had initiated an increase in the minimum wage by 15%, which will have a direct impact on about 35,000 employees.
"The Draft Law Amending the Law on Internal Trade, passed by the Government on 7 March, provides for the ban on performing wholesale and retail activities on Sundays and days of state and other holidays. Introducing a non-working Sunday in the trade sector, which is an initiative of the Chamber of Commerce, empowers the right to a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours continuously, which is used on Sundays, as defined by the Labour Law. This measure will have a direct impact on 37,000 employees in the trade sector," said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister announced that the rate of income tax on earnings of natural persons will be reduced from 11% to 9%, adding that in public administration bodies the working hours changed from 7:00 to 15:00, which is more favourable for employees, especially for mothers.
"In addition to these measures, the Government continuously helps to solve the housing issues of employees. Since 2016, 318 employees in the education sector, 717 persons from the Police and 317 health workers have solved their housing issues under favourable conditions. Furthermore, the Housing Cooperative Healthcare, founded by two trade unions and the Ministry of Health, will allocate around 500,000 euros to its employees in 2019. I also recall the 1000+ Project, which has been present for a decade, and which enabled 1,162 family households to resolve their housing issues, of which 735 are from the public sector, and 427 from other social categories," Prime Minister Duško Marković pointed out.
The Prime Minister expressed belief that the International Labour Day will be welcomed with high-quality and effective decisions that have been reached in the interests of the workers and that the Government will contribute to preserving the growth of employment and a better quality of life for all citizens in the dialogue with partners, trade unions and employers' associations.
