How did the announcements, and decisions to increase the minimum wage, in the Federation and Republika Srpska eat up the minimum wage even before it was paid? Price increases are coming on a daily basis. From basic food items, bread, fuel, coffee and other services. Governments, they say, work for workers, not for employers, but we ask how citizens’ pockets suffer at the end of every government decision?
While we wait for an answer to the question of how we will fill the tanks, we already have to think about how we will fill our plates. Some gas stations have already raised fuel prices, and a liter is, on average, ten pfennigs more expensive. Bakers are still calculating the amount of the price of bread.
“We can expect that after January 20th we will form a price, depending on other price increases, because we know that the increase in the price of electricity and labor will be reflected in the increase in the price of not only bakery products but also other food products in the economy,” says Radenko Pelemiš, president of the Association of Bakers of the Bijeljina Region.
If making ends meet has been difficult so far, it seems like it will be even more difficult – and as things stand, the question is what awaits us by the end of the month. Citizens are already at the edge of patience:
“This is our reality, what will we do?!”
“We can’t do without bread, and it’s not worth it for me to cook.”
“Everything is getting more expensive every day and I don’t know how long it will last.”
While the authorities continue to explain that fuel and bread prices are just “the result of global market movements,” the question remains how to survive when prices are rising and wages remain at the same level?
“If we enter a vortex of inflation, and that’s what’s happening in our country, everyone makes plans based on price increases. They are made by those in power for the budget and the public sector. They are also made by businessmen, they calculate new prices and price relationships at a higher level and implement such decisions. On the other hand, when it comes to costs and expenses for workers, this, as a rule, does not happen,” says economic analyst Milenko Stanić.
The increase in the price of fuel and bread is just the beginning – warn experts, who believe that we will soon witness chain price increases. Since January 1, utility prices have also started to rise in some parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The price increase has also been noticeable in the markets these days.
“Imported goods have become more expensive, peppers, tomatoes… they have become drastically more expensive. We used to sell peppers for 4-5 BAM, and now they cost 5.5 BAM when purchased. And when you go to supermarkets, everything is expensive, including here. People have come to terms with it, they will not buy two kilograms but half, which is what they need for one lunch a day,” says Olivija Trifković, a trader at the green market in Bijeljina.
While the authorities talk about economic progress, on the streets citizens are already counting their last marks from their pockets, Federalna writes.
