The trade union consumer basket calculated by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SSS BiH) for the month of January 2024 amounted to 2,895 convertible marks (BAM).
SSS BiH states that the average salary paid in the Federation of BiH for the month of November 2023 was 1,310 BAM, which is the latest data published by the Federal Bureau of Statistics. The minimum wage according to the decision of the FBiH Government is 619 BAM.
They emphasize that the coverage of the trade union consumer basket by the average wage is 45.25 percent, and the coverage of the trade union consumer basket by the minimum wage is 21.38 percent.
It is stated that when creating the union consumer basket, the average salary paid in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was taken into account, as well as the minimum living expenses of a four-member family consisting of two adults and two children, one of whom is in high school and the other in elementary school.
The consumer basket consists of the following categories (next to the name is the percentage of participation of each category in the union consumer basket): nutrition – 44.42 percent, housing and communal services – 13.75 percent, hygiene and health maintenance – 9.43 percent, education and culture – 10.36 percent, clothing and footwear – 10.36 percent, transportation – 4.77 percent and household maintenance – 6.91 percent.
In the food category, prices from three shopping centers were used for 86 items. When it comes to hygiene and health maintenance, costs for ten items were counted, and for housing and communal services, costs for six items.
