ICFTU ONLINE...
223/981021/DD
Brussels October 21 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): Jurgen Buxbaum, the ICFTU representative in Sarajevo, who delivered a speech to the Congress, gave this report to ICFTU OnLine.
The importance of peace in the region, the need for reform of the Montenegrin political system, and the importance of education for trade union development were three main themes at the Confederation of Independent Trade Union of Montenegro's Annual Congress on October 15/16 in Cetinje.
With the terrible bloodshed in neighbouring Kosovo, and the threat of bombing in Serbia, the need for peace, if the region is to develop, was a theme for the 250 union delegates and guests who attended the Congress.
The CITIM is concerned about growing nationalism in the region, and believes that nationalism is the enemy of workers' solidarity. It believes that if nationalism, and its accompanying policy of hate are allowed to dominate the political debate in Montenegro, there will be no possibility of an economic or social solution to the current crisis. The current situation is dire - the banking system is non-existent, the non-payment of wages is increasing, official unemployment stands at 40%, and the presence of refugees from Kosovo, Albania and Bosnia, who now make up 12% of the total population of Montenegro, put terrible strains on the country.
During the Congress, the Danielo Popovic was re-elected as President, easily defeating the other candidate who represented a breakaway faction within the CITIM, which supports Milosevic. In his speech to the Congress, Danielo Popovic who in general supports the Montenegrin President Djukanovic's position for peace in the region, attacked the Montenegrin government for passing legislation concerning labour protection, without consulting the unions.
Although the union has given its backing to the government, particularly during the privatisation process, and is fully behind the reform process which the government is undertaking, the CITIM stressed its firm belief that in order to operate properly, trade unions need to be totally independent of all political parties.
Delegates to the Congress visited the new trade union school at Kotor, which will be completed by the end of this year. The school has been built with contributions from the international trade union movement, including German, French and Italian trade unions, as well as from the ICFTU, and a number of union organisations are planning to help to organise seminars in the centre.
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