GRAS in blockade, retirements and systematisation only part of the solution

Written by: Ernad Metaj

---

The time has come for GRAS to be saved by those who work there. This is the message from the Minister of Transport in the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, Adnan Šteta, after the accounts of this company were blocked again, as well as the procedures for procuring fuel and spare parts on which the number of vehicles providing services to citizens depends.

-    I admit I am significantly less optimistic than in 2019, when we had created a budget framework to intervene more significantly in solving accumulated problems. In 2020, the planned money for GRAS was redirected by decisions of the then government, and our possibilities are now limited by the drop in revenue due to the coronavirus. We will do our part regarding the procurement of new trams and trolleybuses, the renovation of the tram line, its expansion, the introduction of trolleybuses for Vogošća, but ultimately the company's management must also tackle internal problems head-on, Šteta pointed out.

The Government of the Sarajevo Canton cannot help in unblocking the accounts, which are burdened by employee lawsuits worth 5.5 million marks. The union believes that workers will not rebel, as they never have, if the collection is postponed for a certain period, but they reject any solution that would lead to the closure of certain units within this company.

-    In all previous scenarios, only the workers bore the burden of responsibility. We gave up 15 percent of our salaries, procured vehicles with our own funds, could not get medical treatment for 15 years; it is time to take concrete measures, and there are solutions, believes Amir Muminović, President of the GRAS Union.

While the Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, Edin Forto, publicly talks about a surplus of workers, around 500 of them, the Government of the Sarajevo Canton is not filling vacant positions in the company's management quickly enough. The appointment of the President of the GRAS Assembly is underway, and the entire burden has fallen on the shoulders of the new acting director, Senad Mujagić, who needs the support of the Supervisory Board to form the company's management.

-    At this moment, our priority is to complete the systematisation along with a review of all those who meet the conditions for retirement, in order to create an optimal business organisation. We have 41 workers who can retire, but we need support to settle eight years of unpaid contributions for them, which was promised by the government. There are many problems we must solve together with the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, Mujagić stated for Patria.

Like the union, Mujagić sees the story about 500 surplus workers as unrealistic. He claims that this was talked about even when GRAS had 2,000 employees. His estimate is that the surplus could be around a hundred workers. In doing so, he refers to analyses conducted when GRAS had 1,500 workers.

-    At that time, it was said that the surplus was 270; we now have 1,330 workers. A key problem is also work invalids, because for years we transferred drivers to administration. Today we have 194 work invalids who are not taken care of by the state, but by GRAS, said Mujagić.

What is concerning is that the blockade of accounts could lead to significant problems in the functioning of transport. Urgent obligations to suppliers amount to 3.5 million marks, and 9 buses have been out of use for a long time because GRAS cannot procure LPG gas.

Minister Šteta announces that the problem of completing the management should be resolved soon, but notes that the problem is the low interest of qualified and capable personnel to go to GRAS. 

-    This is no longer a matter of politics; we need people who know and are ready to solve problems. That is why I say that a great responsibility lies with the members of the management, said Šteta.

As for the government, the procurement procedure for new trams has been initiated, and the delivery of 25 new trolleybuses could begin within a year. In parallel, electrification for Vogošća will be carried out, and thanks to the fact that trolleybuses that can operate for a certain time off the grid will be procured, in the future there could be a relief of bus lines, especially towards Semizovac.