Information published by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia-Herzegovina that the consumer basket in BiH has become as much as 88 BAM more expensive in February compared to January, and now amounts to 2,053.36 BAM is more than sufficient indication that the economic survival of a four-member family in BiH is a mission impossible for most of its citizens.
Political analyst Denis Carkadzic told this to Vijesti.ba and added that no two average salaries amounting to about 950 BAM are not enough for even the most basic things in order to maintain their bare life functions – food, water, hygiene, clothing, housing, transportation, utilities.
“Depending on the industry, between 650 and 750 BAM in the real sector, and thousands of minimum-wage workers, not to mention the unforeseen costs each month and for which money must be created, borrowing is the only option, “says Čarkadzic.
He adds that, of course, it has its limits in every sense, and the pressure on families, not only economically but also psychologically, becomes absolutely unbearable, and most workers, but also young, unemployed people in BiH are rightly wondering why to work in BiH if from their work they cannot live normally, where leaving is the only option.
“So, we are leaving BiH not because it is better somewhere, but because it is here in every sense becoming unbearable. The first repercussions are already being felt because people are increasingly refusing to work for wages that they cannot live with, and where the real problem of labor shortages has already outweighed employers. After the German Immigration Labor Law came into force, I am convinced that in the very near future, the BiH labor market could collapse completely, as the key problem will not be job offers, but labor shortages, which will have unprecedented consequences for economy and budgets, “said Carkadzic.
Carkadzic concludes that it is a paradox that the political elites that draw their power from these same budgets to the greatest extent do nothing to provide conditions for better wages, and at the end of the story, they could pay the price of everything.
