Forto on the demands of six unions: We can talk in December

SARAJEVO; (Patria) - Sarajevo Canton Prime Minister Edin Forto rejected the stance of union representatives presented at today's press conference that the Sarajevo Canton Government is negotiating with itself when it comes to the base for calculating salaries for budget users in KS. At today's press conference, the possibility of protests by workers from six unions, gathering 14,000 members, was left open.

"We got nothing from Forto and the Government he leads. I invite Forto, the ministers in the Government, and the representatives in the Assembly to negotiate," said the president of the Union of Primary Education and Upbringing of KS, Saudin Sivro.

In his reaction, Forto reminded that a meeting with the Coordination of Unions was recently held, during which an invitation was extended for the continuation of talks in December.

"Then we will know at what stage the process of adopting amendments to the Law on the Allocation of Public Revenues of FBiH is, which could have a significantly negative impact on the Budget of Sarajevo Canton. I want to remind the public that the unions are seeking salary increases that would cost the budget around 145 million KM. At the same time, this Government is aware of the daily increase in the cost of living and inflation," said Prime Minister Forto.

He also emphasized that the KS Government is ready to talk, and stressed that it would be irresponsible at this moment to negotiate such a significant redirection of budget money into salaries, given that it is not yet known what the budget for the next year will look like.

"We invite the unions to continue the talks at the meeting planned for December," concluded Prime Minister Forto.