By The Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) is not surprised by the decision of the Council of RTV Podgorica to practically ignore our request for the dismissal of the executive director of that local broadcaster, Vladimir Otašević, even though the State Audit Institution (SAI) confirmed all the claims made in our dismissal request — and added many more irregularities.
The SAI report clearly pointed to numerous irregularities in the operations of RTV Podgorica, precisely during Otašević’s tenure, despite his attempts to convince the public that the audit referred to his predecessor. The spin that the audit confirmed the legality of his work was directly refuted by the SAI in a 63-page report. Even Otašević himself praised the auditors, emphasizing that “RTV Podgorica had a constructive approach in cooperation with the state auditors, who also had a very correct and professional attitude during the audit process in our Company.”
The same Council that rejected the request to dismiss Otašević recently rewarded him with a permanent 30% salary bonus, even though he returned money he had unlawfully received while on sick leave. Otašević was given this “raise” for allegedly good business performance, although the SAI report showed the situation was quite the opposite. His months-long absence from work in the fall of 2024 — without any documentation, while his position and full salary were preserved — was “reimbursed” only in May this year, after the audit highlighted this misconduct. To ensure that he wouldn’t feel any financial impact, the Council awarded him a bonus that same month — conveniently in the exact amount (30%) his salary should have been reduced by during his sick leave. The SAI sufficiently explained the fact that he repeatedly asked the Council for personal advances throughout the year.
Last year, under Otašević’s leadership, Gradska TV violated seven laws and three internal regulations. Otašević conceals the amount of his salary and his employment contract, approves advances for himself, uses a business credit card and company car, and allocates bonuses at his discretion. His actions often defy imagination: dismissing the president of the trade union, fabricating disciplinary procedures, disbursing public funds without legal basis, hiding documentation from the SAI related to his salary and employment contract (likely fearing legal scrutiny of his appointment), blaming former and current colleagues as excuses for his own illegal decisions, and avoiding even the most basic accountability…
Meanwhile, employees at his TV station, who produce daily content, receive the lowest salaries in the media sector. He refuses to increase most of their salary coefficients, despite the fact that the media outlet now has more funding — thanks, in large part, to the Trade Union of Media. We remind him that, even though he is disappointed with TUMM’s activities, it was precisely due to our proposal and years of advocacy that the Law on Audiovisual Media Services was amended to increase municipal funding for local public broadcasters. Thus, RTV Podgorica now receives €2.8 million from the Capital City instead of the €1.85 million allocated in the 2024 budget. Clearly, Otašević saw this as an opportunity to improve his own standard of living — a prime example of how unlawful business practices in Montenegro can be quite profitable.
Instead of trying to break up the RTV Podgorica trade union and separate it from the TUMM, we hope that in the future he will focus on legal business practices and improving the working conditions of employees, rather than issuing unlawful dismissals to union members for responsibilities that, according to the Statute of RTV Podgorica, fall under his own duties.
Radomir Kračković, President of TUMM
Marijana Camović Veličković, Vice President of TUMM
