At today’s 122nd meeting, the Committee on Health, Labour and Social Welfare held a control hearing with regard to the Report on auditing success of the State Audit Institution “Expenditures from the budget of Montenegro for litigations arising from labour relations”. Hearing of the following persons was proposed for this meeting: Mr Zoran Pažin, Minister of Justice, Ms Milica Pejanović–Đurišić, Minister of Defence, Mr Raško Konjević, former Minister of Interior, Mr Branislav Radulović, Head of the Collegium of the State Audit Institution and Ms Dragana Đuranović, Protector of Property and Legal interests of Montenegro.

Mr Mihailo Volkov, Director of the Human Resources Directorate in the Ministry of Defence and Ms Nada Ulićević, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence were determined by the Ministry of Defence to attend the hearing instead of Minister Ms Milica Pejanović-Đurišić In addition, the Committee was informed in writing the Mr Dragan Darmanović, General Director for State Treasury in the Ministry of Finance, will attend the meeting instead if Minister of Finance Mr Radoje Žugić.

Also, the meeting was attended by Mr Blažo Savković, Head of Sector II in the State Audit Institution and Mr Marko Sošić, public policy researcher in the Institute Alternative.

During the discussion, parliamentarians posed numerous questions to the persons invited to the control hearing with regard to: violation of rights arising from employment, the absence of using the institute of peaceful settlement of labour disputes, the amount of debt arising from labour disputes including costs of litigation and enforcement procedures, payment of taxes by lawyers who have conducted proceedings on labour disputes, the responsibility for failing to execute final court decision, expected costs from the budget for payments based on the exercising of labour rights, the functioning of the Protector of Property and Legal interests of Montenegro, time periods related to obligations of the state arising from labour disputes, ministries in which the control is performed by the State Audit institution, the recruitment in public administration, as well as responsibility for omissions which incurred expenses arising from labour disputes.

Following the discussion, it was agreed that members of the Committee by 30 April 2015 would establish proposal for conclusions with regard to the held control hearing, for the purpose of adopting them at one of the following meetings and submitting to the bodies responsible for their implementation.