Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – The Union of Free Trade Unions (USSCG) is confident that a new General Collective Agreement will be concluded by the end of this month, serving the interests of all, particularly by protecting the economic position of employees.

“As an organization that postponed a planned protest in order to give social dialogue and compromise between the world of labour, capital, and the Government of Montenegro another chance, we are confident that an agreement will be reached by the end of this month that will be in the interest of all, primarily the protection of employees’ economic position,” USSCG representatives told the Mina-business agency.

USSCG said that the negotiations have exhausted all arguments, which clearly supported the justification for increasing wages, and they believe that both employers and the Government will, within the given timeframe, take a broader view and offer a model that will be in the interest of preserving the trend initiated by the Europe Now 1 and Europe Now 2 programmes.

They stated that although nominal wages have increased through these programmes, the fact remains that the real purchasing power of citizens is lower.

“This is also confirmed by the results of the Union Consumer Basket for the first quarter, published by USSCG, which amounts to €2,090 for a four-member household. This value increased by 2.2 per cent compared to the previous quarter. If we compare the basket for the observed quarter this year with the first quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2024, we can conclude that it increased by €190, or ten per cent, over a two-year period,” USSCG stated.