BiH factories have a long tradition and experience, but the problem is they mostly work for foreign manufacturers who take the main profit. For instance, the price of a pair of shoes made in Gračanica is eventually up to five times higher than the wage of a worker in that factory.
Very often BiH manufacturer brag about how they achieve continuous successes and how products of the world brands such as Adidas, Nike, Prada, Gucci, Dior and others are made in this country. For example, Adidas football boots made in the factory “Sanino” in Derventa were worn by David Beckham and are currently worn by many other football players. World stars walk on red carpets in BiH shoes. Despite the long tradition and experience, problem of BiH factories is that they mostly work for foreign manufacturers, selling only cheap workforce to them. Those same manufacturers later make huge amounts of money on the sale of those same products, who price reaches the amount of several thousand Euros per pair.
Another problem is that workers usually work in difficult conditions and for low wages. That is confirmed by the report of the world association for protection of workers “Labour Behind the Label” published in June this year. Research was conducted in six countries – Albania, BiH, Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The report states that “Made in Europe” is not a guarantee to buyers from Western Europe that working conditions are any better than those in Asia. As a matter of fact, research shows great similarity between working conditions in Asia and Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
According to the Association of textile, clothes, footwear and leather of the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, last year BiH achieved export of footwear in the amount of 642.6 million BAM, while the import amounted to 318.9 million Bam, with a sufficit of 323.7 million. More than a half of the footwear is exported to Italy (52 percent), then to Germany (11%), Austria, France, Slovenia and Croatia.
Even the majority of employers agree that workers’ wages are too low. “We made 16.000 pairs of shoes for Prada, and we all know what Prada is. We glued on the boxes the selling price of 999 EUR for stores in Europe, and we made those shoes for the price of 15 – 20 BAM,” said the Financial Director of the footwear factory “Fortuna” from Gračanica Husejin Nurikić.
Radovan Pazurević, Director of the footwear factory “Sanino” from Derventa, which has 850 workers and exports around 1.700.000 pairs of shoes annually, believes that a country should not base its development on lohn business. “Currently those jobs are the only solution. Footwear industry in BiH is on the fourth place when it comes to the volume of export. We do what we do so that we participate in the world game,” Pazurević said.
Average wage of workers who work in two shifts in the factory “Sanino” is 460 BAM (around 220 EUR). “I agree that working conditions here are not as in other European countries, but they are also not as bad as in Asia,” Pazurević said.
“Sanino” hopes they will achieve income of 20 million BAM on the export of footwear this year. “I’ve been to many airports around Europe and my mind stops when I see a pair of boots that cost 1.500 EUR. I can make that same boot with material and workforce included for 15 to 30 EUR,” Pazurević claims.
(Source: faktor.ba)
