There is no possibility that someone receives a salary and does not come to work, according to ministers, directors of public companies and institutions in the Republika Srpska (RS) after the Government of that entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)sent a letter on December 23rd. In it, they request that employment contracts with such persons be terminated by the end of the year.
If, after the deadline, it is established that they are still in employment, the responsible persons – executives – will bear sanctions and be dismissed from their positions, according to the letter.
The letter, which Radio Free Europe (RSE) had access to, was sent to the addresses of all 16 ministries, as well as administrations, agencies and other services that work as part of the Entity Government.
Radovan Viskovic, President of the RS Government, one of the two BiH entities, went a step further and announced on December 27th that he would publish the names of those who were employed in the public sector and did not come to work, as well as how long it lasted.
Civil Service Agency: There are no such cases
At the beginning of December, around 5,300 people worked in the civil service agency – of which 2,100 were employees (workers in administrative, accounting and auxiliary jobs).
According to the Law on Republic Administration, it includes 16 ministries, six administrations and 21 republic administrative organizations.
The director of the Civil Service Agency of the RS, Aleksandar Radeta, told RSE that he “doesn’t believe” that there are such persons in the administration. He said: “I think it’s mostly about advisors, who are advisors to directors in public companies or ministers,” Radeta emphasized.
What are the possible penalties for executives and (non)workers
According to the lawyer from Banja Luka, Jovana Kisin Zagajac, the Government’s letter is problematic, because it puts the burden on the workers, instead of the supervisors who made it possible for them.
“There, as usual, the emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the lowest structure, namely the workers whom we all know are employed based on political lines and who are employed to collect votes in pre-election campaigns, to bring their families, to choose certain votes,” Kisin explained.
“We need to assess whether there are elements of a criminal offense – whether someone knowingly and intentionally allocated funds from the budget to pay people they knew were not coming to work,” she concluded, Radio Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
