Bajramović: Protests have been devalued, our weapon is the strike

The president of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of BiH, Ismet Barajmović, stated in an interview for the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) that during the four-year term ahead of him, he will use all legal means to increase the minimum hourly wage for workers in the Federation of BiH to 6 KM.

To achieve this, his four-year program at the head of the SSSBiH will involve strengthening all trade unions, which will be ready at any moment to activate workers' strikes, as the strongest weapon of trade unions in all countries of the world.

- Protests have been devalued. We have seen that it is difficult to fight for workers' rights with them. But strikes, which involve shutting down machinery and causing direct material damage to the employer, are a much more serious matter. When we have this weapon strong and ready, then every employer will strive to avoid a strike – said Bajramović.

When asked by Patria journalists how he comments on accusations that he is under the direct influence of the Social Democratic Party, i.e., Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić, Bajramović said that, apart from both being from Konjic, nothing else connects them.

- It is true that I have very good cooperation with Mr. Nikšić, but contacts with the Government of FBiH are exclusively for the purpose of trade unions more easily achieving their goals and programs – said Bajramović.