A month after the decision of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on approving temporary funds, employees at the BiH Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA) are still waiting for the payment of the first tranche. Their salaries have already been reduced, future ones are uncertain, and the loss of control over BiH airspace threatens – all because of a lost arbitration dispute with the Slovenian company “Viaduct,” though they are neither guilty nor responsible.
BHANSA is fighting for survival. Although it has nothing to do with the debt to “Viaduct,” it is still paying it. Employee salaries have been reduced by 20%, while traffic has increased by the same percentage. Everyone is at the edge of patience, says Armin Fazlic, one of 144 air traffic controllers.
“We found ourselves in a situation we didn’t cause, without being guilty or responsible, and now we have to carry that additional burden and uncertainty. We work live traffic, we talk to airplanes. Every dot on our monitor represents hundreds of lives. We are supposed to be 100% professional, however, aside from the private matters we all have, there is this big question mark above all of us, and that is our financial existence,” says Fazlic.
Although the Council of Ministers of BiH approved the first tranche of funds for salary payments and current expenses a month ago, the money has still not been paid. And let’s recall, EUROCONTROL had previously blocked the funds from which this BiH agency is largely financed. The Air Traffic Controllers’ Union of BiH claims the problem lies with the Treasury, as the Council of Ministers’ decision allegedly does not comply with the Law on Financing BiH Institutions.
“The problem isn’t the money, the money is there. But, of course, no one wants to do anything outside the law and be held accountable for it later, so I understand the people working there. We were told that the decision comes into effect on the day it was made, but it turned out that’s not true. The decision was only signed by the Office of Legislation on May 14th and was published in the Official Gazette last Thursday,” says Vinko Malnar, president of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Union in BiH.
Regardless of the problems BHANSA employees have found themselves in, these people, in the room where it all begins, remain focused and attentive to all details and the safety of BiH airspace.
But many are forced to consider leaving. What’s at stake is not only the workers’ livelihood but the very control over BiH’s airspace.
“I sincerely hope it won’t come to that, that our politicians won’t allow it, but even if it does happen, it would be catastrophic, and the return of BiH airspace control would be a painstaking task because it took a long time for BiH to take over its own airspace, and it would take just as many years to regain it,” warns Fazlic.
The Union does not want to consider a general strike or work stoppage, but…
“We’re approaching June, our salaries need to be paid no later than June 15th, and I ask all responsible individuals – what do they expect from us if we don’t receive the money? We don’t want to jeopardize the economy and tourism of BiH. They’re literally pushing us to the wall,” emphasizes Malnar.
The issue of Viaduct was also discussed by delegates in the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (NARS). The debt was caused by RS, but someone has to be held accountable. The opposition is demanding answers.
“There was information that ‘Viaduct’ sold its claim and that RS now owes someone else. I received information, and we will check it, there are records, that recently at one Commission in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH (PABiH) the Governor of the Central Bank of BiH (CBBiH) said she had knowledge that the new owner of ‘Viaduct’ is a group of people who were once part of the Elektroprivreda RS management. We will verify that too,” says Igor Crnadak, head of the PDP caucus in the NARS.
Members of the Committee for Transport and Communications of the BiH House of Representatives, such as Semsudin Mehmedovic, also say it is necessary to find the culprit for the damage caused by “Viaduct.” They requested a supplement to the report from the Attorney General’s Office. They believe that key parts are missing, especially those that preceded the verdict.
“We want to find out all the facts surrounding the events related to this case and this affair. It is clearly evident that the Viaduct case is one of many issues economically undermining the state of BiH by attempting to collapse our institutions,” emphasizes Mehmedovic.
According to the agreement with the Council of Ministers of BiH, RS is obliged to pay the full damage caused by the arbitration rulings. However, since BiH is formally the party in the proceedings, the settlement of obligations goes through state institutions, while the subsequent collection from RS remains uncertain.
While the debt increases daily by about 18.000 BAM, it is being paid by those who caused none of it and who, due only to poor politics, found themselves in the middle of a lost arbitration dispute.
