About 30,000 employees in the public sector, including the police, are planning to hold a protest in Banja Luka today due to dissatisfaction with the work of the Government of Republika Srpska. The trade unionists claim that the employer and the Government of Republika Srpska did not respect them because they did not fully fulfill the agreement signed with the entity government in the middle of last year. According to that agreement, the fourth step – a salary increase in the second quarter of this year – was not implemented as agreed.
The group of employees includes the public administration, the police, doctors, medical technicians and the Independent Healthcare Union. Last year, representatives of five trade unions signed an agreement on salary increases with the Government of RS. According to that agreement, the salary was increased by ten percent from June 2022, and by an additional 100 marks from August of the same year.
Salaries of all employees who were below the entity average in the public sector were increased by five percent from the beginning of 2023. The average salary in July for employees in public administration, police and health care was 1,581 BAM, which is about 300 BAM more than the overall average salary in RS.
The protest gathering is planned in “Mladen Stojanović” Park at 12:00, from where they will walk to the RS Government building and the RS President’s Palace to submit demands. The protest will end at Trg Krajine.
