And salaries without contributions: BHRT spends all resources on Mostar Fair and Večernjakov pečat, journalists must speak Croatian!

By: Amra Vrabac

The last salary for BHRT employees was paid on April 8 for the month of March. At first glance, it would seem that things have improved at the State public radio-television service, but in reality, it is not so. More precisely, the workers received a "bare" salary. Without a meal allowance, without paid contributions on the salary. This means that their contributions for healthcare have not been paid either. Perhaps the workers are obliged to pay doctors in the private sector when they cannot use public healthcare.

However, at the same time, the management of BHRT, led by General Director Belmin Karamehmedović, acts as if all problems have been solved. At the end of February, the Independent Trade Union of Workers at BHRT issued a public statement reiterating their demands.

"We demand that a systemic solution be found and an Agreement be signed to ensure: an increase in salary, a meal allowance, payment of contributions, and improvement of working conditions. We call on all responsible parties to be accountable to the employees of the Public Service of BiH.

Gentlemen, for the umpteenth time, we repeat, think carefully, the existence of about 800 employees is at stake, 60 percent of whom receive salaries between 600 and 900 KM. These funds are social benefits, for utilities and medicines, not for a life worthy of a human being," the Union appealed at the time. And then an unusual silence followed.

Patria sent several questions to the General Director of BHRT, Karamehmedović, and the Director of BHT1 television, Mario Vrankić, regarding these problems, as well as the realization of the broadcast of the Večernjakov pečat ceremony organized by Večernji list on May 17. However, both have been ignoring our inquiry for days.

And here is the problem.

The General Director of BHRT and the Director of BHT1 have made three studios of the RTV home, personnel, and equipment, including HD, available, which will likely have to be rented for the realization of the broadcast of the Večernji list event, which is 100 percent privately owned.
We asked Karamehmedović and Vrankić about the economic justification for realizing the broadcast of Večernjakov pečat, whether a contract on mutual rights and obligations has been signed, and what BHRT's costs are, given that the live program is produced from three locations (Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka), and who pays the people engaged in this project.

What is even more devastating in this case is that, according to the planned scenario, all hosts and journalists who will lead the event and report during the broadcast must speak Croatian, regardless of whether they are Croats or do not normally speak Croatian.

We were interested in who ordered this.

The entire program was conceived by Valentina Rupčić, editor at Večernji list and member of the BHRT Supervisory Board. Rupčić and Jozo Pavković, director of Večernjakov pečat and editor-in-chief of Večernji list in BiH, were at the same table with HDZ leader Dragan Čović when the HŠK Zrinjski evening was celebrated on April 11.

Considering the messages of the video spot that BHT1 is currently broadcasting, that they are there for the citizens, to inform them, ask them, investigate, all because they love Bosnia and Herzegovina, this is precisely what prompted us to ask what benefit BHRT viewers will have from this private event, and what benefit BHRT will have at a time when it is drowning in debt, accumulating debt to the EBU, and must justify the 4 million KM allocated to BHRT by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH.

However, this is not the only event that BHT will broadcast live. The same applies to the International Economy Fair in Mostar, which begins today, and behind which stands the company Mostarski sajam d.o.o., owned by seven individuals (Vedranka Gadžić, Miroslav Ćorić, Branko Kolobarić, Ante Vidačak, Vlado Čuljak, Tin Matić, Josip Čarapina).

According to the announcement, the opening of the Mostar Fair will be addressed by Director Dalfina Bošnjak, Mayor of Mostar Mario Kordić, Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH Borjana Krišto, and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković. Croatia is the partner country of this year's fair, and this will be an opportunity for Plenković to send messages to his voters in BiH the day before the elections in Croatia, regardless of what he talks about.

If Karamehmedović, Vrankić, BHRT, or the Union, to whom we also asked several questions, provide answers, the Patria News Agency will publish them.