Dear media representatives,
Dear MPs,
Liberal party proposed the amendment to the Proposal of Law on Mandatory Health Insurance, which was previously harmonised with 15 non-governmental organisations, and which also proposed that the Fund reimburses to employer paid compensation of salary for the time of provisional inability to work due to pregnancy in the amount of two average salaries of an employee in Montenegro in previous year, instead of one average salary, as Government proposed.
We urge Montenegrin MPs to vote for the proposed amendment and prevent the tendency where Government jeopardises the rights of pregnant women and women in labour.
In line with Article 41 of the Proposal of Law on Mandatory Health Insurance, the amount reimbursed to employer is limited to only one average salary.
We remind that the amount reimbursed to employer was already limited on two average salaries of an employee in state since 2013, or with the adoption of Law on social and child protection (Article 51, paragraph 2), in spite of the strong resistance by non-governmental organisations which indicated on the discrimination of pregnant women and women in labour who make more than two average salaries.
We deem it necessary to use the aforementioned provision of Law on social and child protection because it would be intolerable to go single step further and additionally aggravate the position of employed pregnant women, or limit the amount of reimbursement to which the employer has the right on one average salary.
Proposed amendment prevents the discrimination of women and “sanctioning” of pregnant women, particularly of highly educated women who make more than the average salary in state, who are in the midst of their pregnancy unable to work, as well as the creation of additional obstacle during the employment of women in their reproductive age.
Additionally, this equalises the relation of state toward pregnant women and women in labour, as equally important and sensitive periods in the lives of women who opted for motherhood.
We hope that the MPs will not follow the reasoning of the proposer according to which budget savings should be made at the expense of pregnant women and woman in labour, and that they will prevent the trend of jeopardising their rights.
Respectfully,
Ivana Vujović, Juventas
Tea Gorjanc Prelević, Human Rights Action (HRA)
Kristina Mihailović, Asssociation Parents
Maja Raičević, Women’s Rights Centre
Ljupka Kovačević, ANIMA
Ljiljana Raičević, Shelter
Aida Perović Ivanović, PRIMA
Daliborka Uljarević, Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Marina Vujačić, Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro (AYDM)
Vladan Golubović, CAZAS
Biljana Zeković, SOS Hotline for Women and Children Victims of Ciolence, Podgorica
Milan Šaranović, Centre for antidiscrimination – Ekvista
Danijel Kalezić, Queer Montenegro
Zlatko Vujović, Centre for monitoring and research (CeMI)
Ana Novaković, Centre for the Development of Non-governmental organisations (CDNGO)