Delegates of SNSD and HDZ reject laws that would save millions of KM in the budget

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Delegates of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH at today's session did not adopt the Bill on extraordinary austerity measures in institutions due to the new coronavirus pandemic, with votes from delegates of SNSD and HDZ BiH, because they adopted negative opinions of the Constitutional-Legal Committee and the Committee on Finance and Budget on the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Excise Duties in BiH in the first reading, proposed by the House of Representatives of the PA BiH. According to the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples, by adopting the negative opinions of the committees, this Bill is considered rejected.

Negative opinions of the Constitutional-Legal Committee and the Committee on Finance and Budget on the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Salaries and Benefits in BiH institutions in the first reading, proposed by the House of Representatives of the PA BiH, were also adopted. By adopting the negative opinions of the committees, this Bill is also considered rejected.

The House adopted negative opinions of the Constitutional-Legal Committee and the Committee on Finance and Budget on the Bill on Mandatory Contributions of Officials in BiH Institutions for the Fight Against the COVID-19 Pandemic and on the Bill on Extraordinary Austerity Measures in Institutions Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which were proposed in the first reading by the House of Representatives of the PA BiH. Both of these proposed laws, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the House of Peoples, are considered rejected.

Amendments that would abolish bonuses, holiday pay, anniversary bonuses, as well as limit severance pay were also not adopted.

These laws were previously adopted in the House of Representatives of the PA BiH, but it was evident yesterday that they would not pass in the House of Peoples after the Committee on Finance and Budget gave a negative opinion.

The Bill on Extraordinary Austerity Measures in Institutions Due to the New Coronavirus Pandemic stipulated that the use of funds for representation in BiH institutions would be prohibited until the end of this year, that the right to holiday pay, anniversary bonuses, and compensation for education and professional development would be abolished.

The Bill also entails that all officials and their deputies would have their bonuses, meal allowances, overtime pay, night shift pay, and holiday work pay, as well as compensation for living apart from family, business travel, transportation, and severance pay for retirement, abolished until the end of 2020.

Furthermore, the Bill on Mandatory Contributions of Officials in BiH Institutions for the Fight Against the Pandemic was not accepted either. It stipulated that officials would contribute 20 percent of their salary to a special fund for the fight against the coronavirus.

Delegates also rejected amendments to the Law on Salaries and Benefits in BiH Institutions, proposed by the House of Representatives, which provided for limiting severance pay to 12 average salaries in BiH. This would mean the minimum severance pay would remain as it was, 5,364 KM, but the maximum severance pay would be limited to 10,728 KM.

SDP BiH delegate Denis Bećirović told his colleagues that today's stance on these laws is not only politically incorrect but also immoral towards citizens in such a socio-economic situation.

MP of Our Party in the House of Representatives of the PA BiH Damir Arnaut reacted to today's rejection of four legal solutions.

"Last year I said that SDA has made state-level government meaningless when it gave Dodik and Čović a controlling stake - 4 delegates each in the House of Peoples. Those 8 rejected 4 laws today that would have saved millions, initiated the fight against COVID, and helped the economy. For anyone who still doesn't understand: 3 is not equal to 4," Arnaut wrote on Twitter.