Montenegro, República de - Workers strike in Shipyard Bijela for unpaid wages

On the 30 June 2015, 126 workers out of the total 392 employed by Adriatic Shipyard Bijela were dismissed, following a Commercial Court’s decision to launch bankruptcy proceedings after the failure of four tenders. Workers responded through a strike, demanding a five-year service gap and unpaid salaries due from March to June. A meeting between representatives of the Shipyard and the Government was organised; workers announced that if the meeting didn’t produce a successful outcome, they would radicalise their protest preventing ships from leaving or entering the shipyard. This strike was only one of a series declared by Montenegrin Workers in 2015 against unpaid wages and undermined rights following the opening bankruptcy procedures. Other strikes occurred, amongst others, at Metalac, at Kolasin local self-government as well as at Podgorica Tobacco Company.