Workers at the New Steelworks Zenica took buses to Sarajevo this morning to protest in front of the Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions ahead of a session of the Council of Ministers to decide on measures to protect domestic steel production.
The workers decided to protest because temporary measures for steel imports had not been adopted, and the company warned that without such a decision, production could be suspended as early as May, with the consequences of the loss of thousands of jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sales Director of the New Steelworks Zenica Saša Božić said that even if the Council of Ministers adopted the necessary regulation on market protection today, this plant would have to temporarily halt production because there is not enough coke until the next delivery arrives.
As a key reason for the measures, he pointed to the sharp increase in steel imports, stating that they increased by 317 percent from 2020 to 2025 and that this directly threatens domestic production.
The President of the Trade Union of the New Steel Plant Zenica, Rašid Fetić, said that the workers will protest in Sarajevo to demand an explanation from the competent institutions and to express their dissatisfaction with the decisions made.
The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not adopt the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Staša Košarac, to introduce temporary protective measures for steel imports, and it will have to be voted on again in the second round at today’s session, Srna writes.
