NO AGREEMENT: State employees announce paralysis of Sarajevo Canton

(Patria) - The fourth round of negotiations between the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the Coordination of six representative trade unions of workers receiving salaries from the budget of Sarajevo Canton has ended without an agreement, regarding the increase of the base for salary calculation, the Union announced today.

At the opening of the meeting, the Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, Edin Forto, informed those present that the Government, after receiving the letter from the Coordination of Trade Unions in which it was notified that the unions do not accept the offer to increase the base for salary calculation in the amount of 330 KM, had again considered all circumstances and that the last offer in the amount of 330 KM is the final offer, and that the Government of Sarajevo Canton will try to further improve the rights of all workers through individual collective agreements.

The Coordination of Trade Unions again stated a clear position that the offer is unsatisfactory and cannot cover the increase in living costs, and that other governments with smaller budgets have increased the base for workers by a larger amount than the Government of Sarajevo Canton intends to. It was pointed out that the membership of two more members of the Coordination should declare on the offer, after which they will submit the final position to the Government.

The membership of the Independent Union of State Employees and Civil Servants of Sarajevo Canton declared on the offer of the Government of Sarajevo Canton in the amount of 330 KM, and over 95 percent of them rejected it, considering that it is not a dignified offer that state employees and civil servants, as well as other workers in Sarajevo Canton, deserve.

"As the first among equals, it remains for me only to call on the Prime Minister and ministers in the Government of Sarajevo Canton to reconsider the offer once more, that the talk about additional improvements through individual collective agreements is not fair, because other branches have the possibility to improve salary grades while state employees and civil servants cannot, because our salary grades are in the Law on Salaries and Allowances in the Bodies of Authority of Sarajevo Canton, which also includes the salary grades of holders of executive power, and that is why it is much more difficult to change the law than a collective agreement," said Elvis Zornić, President of the Independent Union of State Employees and Civil Servants of Sarajevo Canton.

He notes that, if the Government does not change its decision, the union will continue with planned activities of organizing and implementing union struggle, which will lead to a work stoppage in all bodies of the state service of Sarajevo Canton, and which will result in the paralysis of Sarajevo Canton.

"I hope that the Government, before adopting the proposal of the budget of Sarajevo Canton for 2022, will once again carefully consider everything and increase the base that will cover the more expensive standard of living caused by the increase in prices of all supplies and groceries," Zornić emphasized.