Civil servants will still wait for higher salaries. The reason lies in the fact that the budget for this year has not yet been adopted, so the institutions are on temporary financing. Therefore, civil servants are preparing for protests and a potential strike until they get what is due to them.
The requirements are clear – the payment of a one-time aid of 2,000 KM, the adopted budget of BiH for 2025 and changes to the law which deletes the provision that the payment of the salary base is tied to the adoption of the budget.
There is money
– Looking at the deadlines we have given, they will certainly break through them, because October 30 is the last deadline for adopting the budget. All further activities should be carried out according to the union’s earlier conclusions. However, what the SIPA Trade Union insists on in all of this is to go for more radical measures such as blocking the border. At least to create crowds at the borders. I know there are crowds even like this, looking at the implementation of the EES, but believe me we see no other solution than to go on some form of strike, said Edin Kahrimanović, president of the Trade Union of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).
Kahrimanović points out that the payment of one-time aid would at least compensate people for the amount that was denied to them due to the failure to adopt the budget.
– Essentially, these are funds that have not been spent, but were planned in this budget for salary increases. We did not ask for any additional funds to be provided in the budget or anything. As far as we know, 51 million marks were planned in the budget for the payment of that difference, that increase. And what we are asking for, which is for 22,500 people, is to pay 2,000 marks each from the funds planned for our salary by increasing the base, Kahrimanović tells us.
The emergency session of the House of Representatives, where the budget will be discussed in the regular procedure, will most likely be held on October 29
The exact date of the strike has not yet been determined.
– We have to consult with all the trade unions, considering my position as president of the SIPA Trade Union, which is that SIPA would not gain anything by striking, because nobody wants SIPA to do anything special, as far as I can see. And then we are prevented from making a strike, creating problems at the borders, in order to force them to take us seriously, says Kahrimanović.
Speaking about the next steps, Dragan Matović, president of the BiH Border Police Union, announced that decisions on protests will be made immediately after the deadline of October 31.
– Right after October 31, we will have a joint meeting based on an earlier agreement – all trade unions operating in the institutions of BiH – where we will make a decision on the date of the protest in front of the institutions of BiH or in front of the Presidency of BiH. We don’t know what will really happen, looking at some history and past related to all this we are talking about. Since we don’t have any reactions from the other side, it is obvious that we will have to do what we planned, which is the protests. If nothing happens in the foreseeable future, we will look at how to radicalize our protests, says Matović.
Letter to the EU
Kahrimanović also tells us that the trade unions SIPA and the Service for Affairs with Foreigners of BiH submitted an initiative to the Constitutional Court of BiH in connection with the evaluation of the constitutionality of the provisions of the Law on Wages, which limit the application of the new basis until the adoption of the budget. Kahrimanović confirms that the unions have also requested the support of international organizations – the EU Council of Police Unions (CESP) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
– Although we are not currently members of the ITUC, we are addressing you with an urgent and immediate request for solidarity and international support, because workers’ rights in the state institutions of BiH are systematically and seriously violated, the letter states, among other things, Liberation.
