In Montenegro, working on Sundays might be discriminating

Because of the new amendments of the Ministry, the Chamber of Commerce will hold an emergency session on Monday, to on this issue, “based on the principle of non-selectivity and protection of the interests of all businessmen in this sector”, writes Montenegrin daily Vijesti.

Pandemic

According to the Montenegrin Ministry of Economy, enabling entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises to work on Sundays will “encourage economic activity, which is significantly weakened due to pandemic", writes Vijesti.

The Ministry added by stating that 90.5 per cent of the Montenegrin economy consists of micro-enterprises, companies with up to nine employees. The new amendment would enable entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises to work on Sundays during the coming summer and winter tourist season. However, according to the Chamber of Commerce, that might be discriminating against larger businesses.

Working on Sundays is strongly debated in Montenegro since the Parliament voted for Sunday as a non-working day on June 20th, 2019. In that year, the Ministry of Economy stated that the decision was made to enable workers to “significantly increase labour productivity and reduce maintenance costs and regular costs of services “, the Montenegrin business website Investitor reports.