While the cost of living in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is increasing every day, the purchasing power of citizens is weakening, because the wages of workers remain the same. Trade unions in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) demand that the lowest wages in both entities be increased again, because, they warn, with enormous increases in the prices of goods and services, the citizens’ existence is threatened. The price of the consumer basket for a family of four in BiH is 2.800 BAM. Who protects workers’ rights in the age of inflation?
The lowest salary in the FBiH is 543 BAM, which represents a fifth of the consumer basket for a four-member family. The trade unions believe that it should be at least a thousand BAM and expect that this law, which is in the parliamentary procedure, will be adopted.
”In March, it was proposed to be on the agenda, so it was withdrawn at the request of the Federal Government. But we certainly expect at the session that should be held at the beginning of September, that it will be on the agenda and be adopted. Such are the promises we have and we have absolutely no doubt that it will actually happen,” Selvedin Satorovic points out, President of Independent Trade Union of FBiH.
The lowest salary in RS as of May is 650 BAM. But the union is now asking for a new increase.
”Given the inflation, that we have a terribly uncontrolled increase in prices, especially those items that no household can do without, especially a working one, we are in intensive negotiations with social partners to have a new increase in the minimum wage, our goal is to try to maintain the purchasing power of workers in the RS,” emphasizes Ranka Misic, President of Confederation of Trade Unions of RS.
”What is already clear to everyone is that people give up many things in silence, in their own name, in the name of their children, we simply live worse, our quality of life is much worse compared to the region, not to mention the European Union (EU),” says Marin Bago from the Life Quality Improvement Association “Futura”.
Construction workers have the lowest wages in our country, followed by traders and caterers, and workers in the processing industry. Inflation is extremely high, and the purchasing power of citizens is constantly falling.
”That problem can theoretically be solved overnight, only by changing the tax reform. By improving the amendment of the Law, with the same money at stake, the worker will get more at the expense of reduced contributions, we can solve this overnight and it is really alarming, it must be done as soon as possible in order to create a favorable economic and social environment,” Bago adds.
In addition to salary increases, one of the measures to protect citizens is greater control of inspection services in shopping centers, which, as the Trade Unions point out, unjustifiably raise the prices of goods every day without any control. The Trade Union warns that this year the number of 170.000 BiH citizens who left our country will be exceeded if the authorities do not act quickly to protect workers’ rights in the era of high inflation, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
