Expectations are that soon the minimum wage in our country will amount to thousands of marks. In that case, employers will not be able to decide for themselves whether they want to increase it or not, but it will be their obligation, according to the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We remind you that this initiative comes after the thematic session of the Federal Parliament last year, when the Federation of Independent Trade Unions achieved the adoption of the draft Law on the minimum wage of one thousand marks. The new law is planned to enter into force on January 1 of the following year. The optimism of the party members, the assurance of the Federal Government will be severely tested, if this does not materialize, and the trust of the employees is betrayed.
One of the strategic goals of the new Federal Government is the adoption of this law, says Selvedin Šatorović, president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The numerous meetings held by the Federation with representatives of the federal government testify to the fact that serious work is being done on this legal solution, he explained, and added that employers will also be significantly exempted from certain tax obligations, which will make this law realistically enforceable.
“We want to have a guarantee that everything that the state exempts employers from will really end up in the workers’ pockets. Our proposal is a systemic solution that will be mandatory for all employers, where all workers will feel an increase in wages. The employers proposed that it be up to the employers,” Šatorović points out.
This law will soon be in the parliamentary procedure. And from the Alliance of Independent Trade Unions, they expect the full support of parliamentarians because, the Alliance claims, fairer economic opportunities are created for everyone. The Federal Parliament reminds that this law should come as part of a package of fiscal laws, and that it is necessary to take into account the tax obligations of employers.
“I believe that it is extremely necessary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the other hand, the only deviation we will have towards this is the warning of some economists that it will be very difficult to implement in this economic context. But that is precisely why we are working to change the fiscal laws so that such a law on the minimum wage would be realistic,” says Belmin Zukan, SDP representative in the FBiH Parliament.
“If the collective contribution rate is lowered to 30 percent, and the income tax remains at 10 percent, then it automatically means that significantly higher wages will be enabled for our workers, and probably much more significant in the context of the minimum wage itself. The focus of fiscal policies should be how to increase the average salary in the Federation of BiH”, says Admir Čavalić, representative of the SBiH in the FBiH Parliament.
“I don’t know who could be against such a normative act that makes a revolutionary step forward. It sounds nice when you say that the minimum salary will be a thousand marks. However, it is really necessary to do a thorough analysis in order to look at all aspects of such an act, so that we don’t get into a problem and have a counter-effect from one positive effect that would seriously threaten the state”, warns Muamer Zukić, representative of the SDA in the FBiH Parliament.
We also remind you of the attitude of the employers who, through the authorized proponents of the law, submitted an initiative for amendments to the Law on Contributions of the FBiH and the Law on Income Tax of the FBiH. In this way, companies and craftsmen would pay reduced contributions for pension and health insurance on increased net salaries. And the minimum wage is currently 596 marks, which is more than miserable.
