The Councilor of the Croatian Republican Party at the City Center of Mostar, Slavko Zovko, spoke about the dismissal of 22 workers in the Public Enterprise Komunalno Mostar (PE Public Utility Mostar), statements about irregularities in the operations of that company, and issues of the Uborak Deponija (Uborak Landfill). He said that workers should not be left without a job, but that those employed at the public enterprises must perform the tasks they are paid for, while the solution for the waste in Mostar is nowhere in sight.
Speaking about the fate of the 22 Komunalno workers and the expected decision of the labor inspection, Zovko said that the best outcome would be a lawful and fair solution.
“I think the best solution would be the most fair and lawful outcome of all talks and negotiations.”
He recalled that the City Council of Mostar obliged the Mayor and the President of the Council to hold talks both with the dismissed workers and the company’s Supervisory Board.
“The City Council’s conclusion required the mayor and the president of the Council to address the laid-off workers and the Supervisory Board to try and find a solution. I think it is in no one’s interest for those people to remain unemployed. The employees of public enterprises and the City Administration must do what they are paid to do. This should go without saying.”
Complaints about the Lack of Equipment
Zovko said that the employees complained about working conditions and the lack of equipment, but he expressed doubt that this was the only reason for refusing to perform work tasks.
“We heard in the Council that employees complained about conditions and the lack of equipment. They are not the only ones; firefighters also complained about such things. If we consider that a lack of equipment is the cause of refusing to work, then it remains unclear how one part of the city has an issue with this while the other does not.”
“This is anything but a national issue”
Commenting on claims that the case has a national background, Zovko said that he believes it is about interests, not a national matter.
“I think there is no national background, but an interest background. Anyone who followed the beginning of the discussion at the last session of the Council, I think every normal man felt ashamed for everything that was said and the way it was said.”
He added that during the session claims were made about numerous possible irregularities in Komunalno operations.
“Numerous malpractices were mentioned, from missing trucks to paving someone’s yards and driveways – at the expense of the citizens of this city.”
According to him, the national rhetoric is used as a distraction from the way money and the company’s resources were used.
“I think there was a lot of malpractice and that the national story is just a cover-up for spending money and resources of the public enterprise – the city’s citizens.”
Calls for Oversight and Independent Audit
Zovko believes it is especially problematic that the discussion is led when Mostar faces serious public utility issues.
“The city is full of trash, fixing potholes takes six months or even a year, and under such conditions, we are discussing national matters. This is anything but a national matter.”
He called the authorities to inspect the public utility’s operation.
“I call for the internal oversight of the City Administration to enter the public company Komunalno, and the international audit firms which should conduct the oversight, to see who and in what way spent the resources, funds, and mechanization of the Public Enterprise Komunalno.”
“The workers of the landfill were spoken about for only a few minutes”
Speaking about the Uborak Deponija, Zovko said that the topic was on the agenda of the last session of the City Council, but that it was not given enough attention.
“We discussed about 22 employees of Komunalno for five hours, which is completely fine, and we could have for another 55 hours. However, 50 employees of the Public Enterprise Deponija were discussed for less than five minutes. It showed either that in the Club of Bosniaks, all Bosniak workers are not equally important, and therefore the Komunalno employees are important, and the Deponija workers are not.”
He emphasized that city authorities and councilors should equally protect the rights of workers in both enterprises.
“We had to stand up both for the workers of the public enterprise Komunalno and for the workers of Deponija, whose fate is definitely uncertain.”
He assessed that hauling waste to other cities is merely a temporary and expensive measure.
“Currently, the solution of hauling waste to Zenica and Doboj is temporary and very expensive. We will see where this goes, but it is devastating that the colleagues did not stay at the Council and did not allow a discussion on that topic. By doing so, they showed a lack of concern for the 50 employees of the public enterprise Deponija.”
