Brčko often boasts the title of the city with the highest salaries in the country. But, the government decided to moderate this “luxury” a little. With the new amendments to the Law on Wages, the government is saying: we are protecting the budget. The union responds: protect yourself, over the backs of those who have the least.
The Brčko District Assembly broke the news: salaries in the public administration, police and judiciary will no longer follow the full amount of inflation. From now on, growth will be limited to exactly half of the official inflation rate.
“It is limited in such a way that the basis will actually amount to 50% of the established inflation rate in the future period for the previous year,” stated Ljubiša Lukić, chairman of the legislative commission (SNSD).
Savings in the budget and attitudes of the authorities
Sounds like a serious economic measure, doesn’t it? The government claims that this is a saving grace for the budget, as it will save tens of millions of marks.
“With these changes, we reduced it, conditionally speaking, to a single-digit number of millions, which will definitely have a positive effect on public spending itself, in the context of reducing public spending,” added Safet Imamović, SDA representative in the Assembly of Brčko District of BiH.
While the government celebrates fiscal stability, the trade union warns: behind this formula are people whose purchasing power is dwindling every day. For those with the minimum, inflation is not a percentage on paper, but an empty wallet.
“We know that the inflation for the year 2025 is somewhere around 4.7%, so we can expect a salary increase of 2.4-2.5%. And now, we are back again, 2.5 to the minimum salary of 1,100 KM that a lady who works in maintenance, and a salary increase of 2.4% for the head of a department or subdivision is not the same,” said Igor Babić, president of the Brčko District Trade Union.
Consultations and the relationship between the authorities and trade unions
Of course, there were no serious consultations. Why should the government share responsibility with the trade union, when it can itself “shape” the fate of thousands of employees? The strings are firmly in their hands, and the trade union vote is somewhere at the bottom of the list of priorities.
“This is an indicator that the executive power, or the Government as we heard, since this is on their proposal, wants to keep all the strings in their hands and does not want to share the responsibility as we see it in the union”, concluded Igor Babić.
Therefore, the government found a way to save millions in the budget. The only question that remains is whether the same “mathematics” will be applied to prices in stores. Because while inflation is limited on paper, cash register accounts continue to grow, without any limits.
