Đapo: Agreement failed because the Union had no regard for private sector workers

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Restrictive decisions aimed at preserving people's health have hit the economy, which is why the FBiH Government devised a model of massive assistance to all those affected, that is, companies affected by 20 percent or more, said the President of the Coordination Committee for Economic Stabilization and Remediation of Negative Consequences of the Pandemic in FBiH, Edita Đapo, at a press conference.

“Our task is to establish social dialogue with the Union of Independent Trade Unions and the FBiH Employers' Association. We gave them a fair offer to agree and define an agreement, which the Government would sign. The negotiations were very difficult and did not bear fruit. The Union represents public sector workers, and we hoped they would show solidarity with private sector workers, but that did not happen: The FBiH Government must be responsible and adopt amendments to the Labor Law, which will happen at the next session,” Đapo stated.

From the beginning, most have declaratively emphasized that it is not a time for politicking, so if the law fails in one of the houses of the FBiH Parliament, will the burden of responsibility fall solely on you, was Patria's question to Edita Đapo, who replied: “The FBiH Government sent the Law on Mitigating Consequences and the budget rebalance to Parliament, and this should be adopted as a package. We hope that all political entities will accept responsibility. We will accept good amendments, but proposing new legal packages and measures will not be good. The economy needs help now, and this is a measure for economic stabilization. Later, we will help with other measures.”

Asked whether the assertions that FBiH is the only one that has not yet introduced measures to help the economy are correct, Đapo said: “If you compare these measures and if they pass in the FBiH Parliament, then I would say we have done a lot. While we were working on these laws, the Tax Administration and the Ministry of Finance established a system to ensure funds are in the account. I would say the FBiH Government has achieved a good result,” Đapo stated.

Regarding the objections of the Employers' Association and freelancers to the stabilization law, Đapo said that all amendments will be considered.