Defence ministry doesn't pay soldiers for overtime, takes them on vacation

The audience report finds that the Ministry of Defence, due to lack of budget, has applied bail for days off break rather than monetary payment for soldiers. However, it has been found that there is no written procedure to regulate the way to calculate compensation for overtime work on vacation days. This procedural vacuum has led to numerous deviations, where KSF members guarding at night or weekends are compensated for only one day off even when custody takes 24 hours, reports Democracy. com

“The Law on Salaries in the Public Sector, Article 36, stipulates that public officials and other categories of employees paid by the state budget benefit monetary and non-reliable compensation for custody work, night work and overtime, work at the weekend, work on official holiday days. However, they may also ask their employer for compensation for a day's rest. While, setting (MM) No. 10/2019 for the Kosovo Security Force Labor Clock stipulates that full working hours take forty (40) hours a week or eight (8) hours a day, and KSF members are obliged to stick to this schedule. The working hour for KSF members is between 0800 and 1600, from Monday through Friday. The ministry in the absence of budget applies compensation to days of rest. While analyzing overtime work of KSF members exercising this activity, we have noted that provisional compensation on vacation days in cases where custody is not regulated by any written procedure on the rights that members are entitled to for rest when they care for night or weekends. There is no written procedure specifying how overtime is calculated to compensate for vacation days. Based on the analysed data, the KSF applies the delivery of a day off even when they care 24 hours with the reasoning of lack of staff”, says the Defence Ministry's Report on Financial Mirrors for 2023 published by the National Audition Office.

According to the audience, inadequate compensation, whether financial or day of rest, in addition to impacting the motivation of members, also poses a danger for the ministry to face even an influential court indictment.

The audience recommends that the ministry draft and adopt written procedures as soon as possible to compensate overtime. This will help ensure a fair and equal implementation of the law and will contribute to the motivation and protection of the rights of KSF members. Moreover, the need for an increase in budget and staff to meet operational requirements without compromising labour standards and workers' rights has been stressed.

Drug and medical supplies to KSF

This report raises major concerns about delays in supplies, disrespecting property management procedures and an inefficient planning of drug stocks.

According to Article 2.1 of the contract for “Food on medicines and medical materials for KSF's needs”, the value of the contract is 67,754 euros, and the deadline for handing in medicines is 7 days from the release date of the ordinance issued by the Accounting Authority. However, the audience's analysis has found that a fee of 17,984 euros for the contract has been made incompatible terms with the contract. The ordinance was issued on 09.11.23, while the drugs were admitted in 07.12.23, with a 20-day delay for which no preemptive penalties were applied.

Then, Ministry of Finance regulation No. 02/2013 for non-financial wealth management stipulates that all non-financial property movements should be based on accurate and up-to-date documentation. The report finds that management of the KSF's drug storage is not done through electronic and-rich systems. As a result, drug leaks to camps or patients are registered only physically, leaving stock in the unchanged-rich system and creating a significant gap in inventorys.

Another important calculated problem is increasing the stocks of expired drugs because of improper planning and management. The research units often issue orders without accurate information on the existing stock at the warehouse, which has led to increased expired stocks and potentially to additional costs for their annihilation.

“Vones in drug delivery influence that patients treated by a doctor will not be able to take drugs when they need them. On the other hand, poor drug planning and management as a result of a lack of accurate information on stock status in storage affects the lack of drugs that require or complete the length of those staying in the warehouse for a long time”, the National Audit Office says away.

This report has resulted in five recommendations, which include two new recommendations, a repeat recommendation and two partially repeated ones.