By In response to the statement made by the Executive Director of RTV Podgorica, Vladimir Otašević, regarding our reaction to the open letter by some employees of that media outlet, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) issues the following
RESPONSE
In his statement, Executive Director Vladimir Otašević made several serious false claims, accusing TUMM leadership of asking him to overlook illegal fuel usage and calls for physical altercations in the newsroom, and alleging that we are pressuring him and the judiciary. In reality, Otašević is trying to conceal his own unlawful management practices as the head of a public broadcaster—a position from which he should have been dismissed long ago.
Let’s clarify, point by point:
- It is false that Otašević personally helped establish the TUMM a few years ago and allegedly convinced colleagues to join in order to protect their rights. TUMM was founded in 2013, not a few years ago, and Otašević joined in 2014. He was not among the 30 founding members.
- It is also false that TUMM leaders are applying “unprecedented pressure” on the court and Otašević to overturn the dismissal of Milan Nikčević, president of the RTV Podgorica union. TUMM is simply using all legally available means to assist Nikčević in his fight for justice. The actual truth is that ever since he became a director, Otašević has led a campaign against Nikčević, including two demotions via job reassignment—which violates Article 196 of the Labour Law—then launched disciplinary proceedings against him, and ultimately fired him after the second disciplinary process. Nikčević had prior approval from the former director of the broadcaster to receive a monthly fuel allowance, as he commutes from Nikšić. When Otašević became director, Nikčević repeatedly asked whether he could continue using the fuel benefit, to which Otašević verbally agreed. Nikčević also asked multiple times for written confirmation, but was told verbal approval was sufficient. That Otašević now claims not to remember this is his own problem. According to RTV Podgorica’s statute, Article 26, “The Executive Director is responsible for the operations and legality of the organization’s work.” In that sense, he should have fired himself. Furthermore, Nikčević regularly submitted receipts to RTV Podgorica’s finance department, each personally signed, and the broadcaster consistently paid these bills—with Otašević’s signature. In his statement full of falsehoods, Otašević admits this came to light because administrative staff failed to follow procedure and properly check invoices. So, is only Nikčević to be held accountable, or others too? Since no one else was held responsible, it’s clear there’s a double standard being applied against a union representative.
- Regarding Otašević’s claim that we are defending someone who invited a colleague to a physical altercation—he initiated a disciplinary process over that incident last year, in which TUMM did not intervene, as it was a dispute between two union members. Nikčević received a warning for a minor violation, while the other colleague—who claimed to have pushed Nikčević in self-defense—was acquitted.
- As for Otašević’s blatant falsehood that we “pressured” him to reverse the dismissal during a meeting with Podgorica’s mayor, Saša Mujović—we won’t even dignify that with a comment. We’ll just remind everyone that even his own heads of legal and finance, Relja Stamatović and Nemanja Vešović, clearly stated during that same meeting that Nikčević should not have been fired.
- TUMM has called on the RTV Podgorica Council to dismiss Otašević due to his continued illegal conduct. That’s why he is issuing such statements—because he knows there is evidence against him. He himself admitted he didn’t submit required documentation for temporary work disability during the past year. He has no formal decision authorizing a monthly payment of €600 to the RTV Podgorica union but later demanded one from Nikčević, after unlawfully firing him. He signed off on fuel invoices and payments, only to later claim someone else was responsible. Yet instead of being dismissed, in May this year Otašević proposed—and the RTV Podgorica Council approved—a decision to grant him a 30% salary bonus for an unlimited period.
- As for his repeated lie that TUMM leadership pushes for employees in media to be fired, we will address that in court, since Otašević knows full well there is not a shred of evidence for that claim.
- Regarding his allegation that we seek dismissals of directors who aren’t aligned with our employers, we remind Otašević that Camović Veličković was fired from the newspaper Vijesti back in 2014 under similar circumstances to Nikčević’s dismissal, while she was president of the union. At that time, Otašević did not speak up, despite claiming to have helped found the TUMM.
Lastly, we welcome the fact that Otašević is now personally fighting to save his position, instead of instructing some employees to sign petitions and insult TUMM leadership when we appear at RTV Podgorica premises—something he indirectly admitted in his social media post yesterday. Rather than acting as a responsible employer and protecting union representatives and visitors, he announces that we will be insulted, and that we are neither welcome nor allowed to enter this public institution.
