Workers in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina expect that the basis for salary calculation for the year 2027 will be 785 KM, which is 95 KM more than it is now, and which in practice would mean that the salaries of budget users in the next year should be significantly higher, by about 200 KM for an ordinary employee up to 950 KM for a member of the BiH Presidency.
Also, the workers are asking the BiH authorities to adopt the budget of the institutions of BiH for this year as soon as possible, and at the latest by the end of this month, so that the workers can be retroactively paid an increased base salary for this year.
The union is asking for a base of 785 KM for salary calculation
“The basic salary should be 785 KM because that is according to the collective agreement we signed. The collective agreement says that the basic salary cannot be less than 50 percent of the average net salary in the previous two years, and when inflation is also taken into account, we will mathematically arrive at that amount. We will insist on this and will not give up. If this is not the case, we are ready for protests,” said Radenko Mirković, president of the Independent Trade Union of Employees in Institutions, for “Nezavisne”. BiH.
Higher wages for all budget users
He said that the workers are asking the authorities to adopt the budget for this year by August 1, that is, before the annual vacations. In that case, as he says, the workers will be retroactively paid increased salaries because they currently receive their salary based on the base from 2025, which is 630 KM, and not based on the base of 690 KM prescribed for this year.
Retroactive payment of increased salaries was made possible by changes to the Law on Salaries and Remunerations in BiH Institutions. Previously, it was the case that a decision was made to increase the basis for salary calculation, but that basis was applied only after the adoption of the budget. Given that the adoption of the budget in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina is constantly delayed in practice, the workers had a larger base on paper, but received a lower salary. Amendments to the Law on Wages in BiH Institutions enable retroactive payment, and in the event that the budget of BiH institutions is adopted by the end of July, workers will be retroactively paid an increased salary that ultimately depends on the coefficient. If a worker has, say, a coefficient of three, he should receive 1,260 KM in addition to his salary for July, given that the base has been increased from 630 to 690 KM.
Pressure from the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina
When it comes to the budget itself, it was adopted by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina only after “pressure” from the Council of Ministers of BiH and should soon be in the parliamentary procedure.
According to unofficial information, the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina should consider the budget on July 22 at a session that has already been scheduled, and after that the document should also go to the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Disputed funds for culture and BHRT slowed down the budget again
As a reminder, the BiH Council of Ministers adopted the budget in the amount of 1.58 billion KM back on May 21 and sent it to the Presidency of BiH, where it stood for more than a month. For Bosniak officials, it is disputed that the budget did not provide money for seven cultural institutions and BHRT, and that was the reason why the budget for 2025 was also delayed.
Regarding the budget for 2025, the BiH Presidency significantly changed the budget submitted to them by the BiH Council of Ministers and referred it to the parliamentary procedure, even though it was more than clear that such a budget would not receive the support of Republika Srpska.
Now, the budget has not been intervened in that way and it is expected that it will be presented to the session of the House of Representatives as an urgent procedure, which means that it will not be possible to amend it, but it will be adopted in the form that came from the BiH Presidency, they write. Independent newspaper.
