Implementation of an ILO partnership programme in Montenegro

The first Decent Work Country Programme between Montenegro and the International Labour Organization was signed on 8 April 2015 for the period of 2015-2017 as the first cooperation programme between the two parties to promote social dialogue, create more and better jobs, and formalize the informal economy.

The Supervisory Board is a tripartite working group which meets twice a year to monitor the implementation of the DWCP and to assess the progress made.

In 2015 the following activities have been conducted so far:

Montenegro ratified three ILO conventions this year, namely the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167), Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187). It also plans to ratify the Convention on night workers.

The ILO funded a "School-to-work Transition Survey", carried out by Monstat, Statistical office of Montenegro, following the internationally recognized methodology of the ILO. To strengthen skills related to the application of the survey’s methodology and to improve the analysis of data, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and Monstat participated in a training in Turin, in the International Training Centre of the ILO. A tripartite delegation of Montenegro also attended a regional conference entitled Labour Market Transitions of Young Women and Men in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in Geneva in April 2015.

Montenegro hosted a major ILO regional conference on ways to formalize the informal economy, attended by tripartite delegations from 16 countries of Europe and Central Asia, as well as by ILO experts. Participants exchanged experiences and formulated coherent and tailored policies and programmes to boost the fight against informality in the region. The conference also provided an opportunity to participants to learn about the ILO Recommendation 204 on the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy, adopted at the 104th International Labour Conference in Geneva, June 12, 2015.

Three other sub-regional events were also organized in Becici: one workshop for the validation of a manual on peaceful settlement of labour disputes, a sub-regional conference on peaceful resolution of individual labour disputes in Central and Eastern Europe and another on green jobs in cooperation with the International Training Centre of the ILO.

A two-day training was also conducted for labour inspectors on informal economy and undeclared work.

In May, Montenegro marked for the first time the World Day of Health and Safety at Work with a tripartite workshop and translated and distributed an ILO report issued for this occasion.

In June, Montenegro commemorated for the first time the World Day against Child Labour.

Finally, an ILO guide has been translated into Montenegrin on national tripartite social dialogue.