Following the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) Employers’ Association’s call for the Federal Government to revoke the decision to increase the minimum wage, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH (SSSBiH) issued a statement. They noted that the pressure continues and remarked that “no one has it harder than employers, especially those in the private sector.”
“The question arises: did someone force them to engage in private business?! If it’s truly so difficult, why don’t they find employment as workers – better yet, as workers earning the minimum wage or less than 1.000 BAM?!” the SSSBiH stated.
They assessed that the majority of employers demonstrated their “desire” to help workers by disregarding the decision to pay one-time financial assistance to workers, and this happened on two occasions.
“Even though this financial aid was free of any levies, less than half of the employees were covered by the decision. Among the employers who complied, only one-third were from the private sector. So, the issue is not the levies’ size but the lack of willingness to share even a small portion of their profits,” stated the SSSBiH.
They added that it is unclear why those who, until recently, claimed that almost no one earns the minimum wage are now making such a fuss.
“Or is it clear?! We know the real issue lies in the fact that for decades they have been reporting workers at the minimum wage level, thereby avoiding paying taxes and contributions. They don’t think about how they are stealing from the state, which they always expect help and support from, while simultaneously degrading workers both as employees and as future pensioners,” they emphasized.
They questioned why there has never been an initiative to increase the corporate tax rate or introduce a differentiated tax rate so that it’s not the same for someone with a profit of 10.000 BAM and someone with 10 million BAM.
“We also don’t have a dividend tax, while profits keep growing year by year… Workers spend almost everything they earn exclusively within our country. The majority of them earn so little that they can’t afford to spend money outside BiH, unlike a large number of employers,” the SSSBiH concluded.
