Montenegro Teachers' Union Calls Strike

The Union of Education has announced that it will hold a one-hour warning strike on Tuesday, saying that the government was still failing to make progress in a long-running dispute over pay.

The union is asking for pay rises, a bigger food allowance and transport bonuses. It is also calling for full-time employment for teachers currently working under temporary employment contracts.

The teachers want a 15 per cent salary increase, citing an agreement signed in 2011, which says that the salaries of public sector employees should match economic growth in the country.

"We have our ways to fight and we'll start with something that will be a warning. We'll intensify the pressure and persevere with it. This would not work if there was no room for wage increases, but there is," union leader Zvonko Pavicevic said. 

Meetings between the union leaders and  Education Minister Slavoljub Stijepovic and Finance Minister Radoje Zugic ended last week without any agreement reached.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic had said that any increase in wages in the public sector would be irresponsible at the moment.