While we wait for Bosnia and Herzegovina to become part of the European Community, which would improve the quality of life, BH citizens leave en masse for Europe in search of a secure existence. And so for years our country has been facing a sad reality, in which an increasing number of its citizens are leaving.
News about Germany as a destination with ease of entry for workers becomes more and more attractive in this story of leaving the homeland. Numerous problems that citizens face are a heavy burden in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s everyday life. Will the new beacon of hope for citizens be better conditions for working across the border?
Germany is the country with the second largest BH diaspora in the world, and the eyes of a large number of citizens have been looking towards a better life in that country for years. While the difficult situation in our country represents bitterness in the everyday life of Bosnians and Herzegovina, information about a possible better life outside Bosnia and Herzegovina is a sweet dream for many.
The impossibility of employment and inadequate working conditions are the main reasons for the increasing departure of citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trade unionists warn of a potential exodus of the workforce. As a solution, they propose increasing minimum wages to 1,000 BAM. Also, they challenge the initiative of the Association of Employers of the Federation to increase the quota of foreign workers.
“The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly opposes such actions and initiatives for the simple reason that we have over 270,000 unemployed people on the employment records. And it is absolutely unacceptable that we import labor in addition to domestic labor,” says Adis Kečo, head of the Professional Service of SSSBiH.
On the contrary, the Association of Employers of the FBiH and the RS say that they are doing everything in their power to retain workers. The paradox of importing foreign workers in addition to a large number of domestic workers is justified by inadequate statistics.
“Our databases, what we have on the records of unemployed persons for employment purposes are unusable. We have about 275,000 unemployed people in the FBiH,” Mario Nenadić, director of the FBiH Employers’ Association, points out.
“A significant number of these people are on the record because of the various rights they exercise in the health insurance segment. And on the other hand, a significant number is in a gray or black zone. So the labor supply, I’m talking about the territory of the RS, is about 59,500”, says Saša Aćić, director of the Union of Employers’ Associations of the RS.
According to Eurostat data, about 20,000 inhabitants leave Bosnia and Herzegovina every year, mostly young people in search of better living standards. And while there are ever-growing lines of citizens fleeing a difficult life at the borders, the question arises: who is responsible for such a situation?
