The ceremony marking Police Day in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) was impressive. All its employees face different social challenges every day and take care of our fellow citizens. Yesterday, Mihret Rotic, president of the Management Board of the Union of Employees of the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs, spoke about their position, as well as the challenges they face.
When it comes to the announced changes to the Law on Internal Affairs of the FBiH – the shortcomings concern the election of the management of the Federal Police Administration and the election of individual bodies, but the Law on Police Officers is more important for the material and labor-legal status of police officers, Rotic noted. A working group has already been formed for that, he added.
As for the financial position of employees in the internal affairs bodies in the FBiH – salaries and benefits are regulated by laws from 2010, Rotic emphasized – the basic salary of a police officer was 11 percent higher than the then average salary in the Federation: “Today it is 18.5 percent less than the average”.
“We are ready to share the fate of other citizens – we are people too, but we must be adequately paid in order to ensure the existence of our families, but also to create the foundation to provide what society expects of us,” Rotic stated.
In terms of status, Rotic said that their priority is the collective agreement, which they haven’t had since 2016. Negotiations were conducted with the former Government – from which he withdrew, he stated, but also that they have positive signals from the current government.
Rotic also spoke about material equipment – he highlighted the positive examples of Tuzla Canton (TC), Canton Sarajevo (CS), and Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDC).
Uniforms are a constitutional category, emphasized Rotic: “There were omissions by certain cantons, but we also have some kind of agreement that will solve it.”
“We have a critical mass of people who can respond to all challenges, but this should be strengthened as soon as possible – and the most pressing problem is the age structure, because in three years between 30 and 40 percent of the police staff will retire,” warned Rotic.
The police have enough authority, but in the interpretation, questions are being asked where they should not be asked, said Rotic: “I would highlight the example of the use of a firearm by a police officer of the CS Ministry of Internal Affairs in one of the banks in the Federation, where there was a request to take repressive measures against that police officer, who justifiably used a firearm against the attacker – due to a lack of understanding of the prosecutorial structures of the authority of a police officer”.
Statistical data speak about the security situation, but the subjective feeling is more important, stated Rotic and added that citizens in the Federation can sleep peacefully.
E.Dz.
