Is Šatorović with the workers or with the government: A meeting with Prime Minister Nikšić held the day before the protests

(Patria) - Federal Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić hosted members of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of BiH the day before May 1st to discuss workers' rights. Representatives of the Union of Metalworkers of FBiH or the Union of Trade and Service Workers of BiH, who held protests today, were not present at that meeting.

A union that sides with the government, not with workers who are quite rightly demanding higher wages due to inflation, sends a message to the workers themselves. And this is not unknown to Prime Minister Nikšić. During his first term, the head of the Union, Ismet Bajramović, "covered his back" from the workers.

And today, on May 1st, the Union of Independent Trade Unions (SSS) of Bosnia and Herzegovina published its May Day proclamation. The question is what Selvedin Šatorović told Nikšić yesterday out of all of this.

"The laws for which the union fought have paved the way for improving working conditions, health and safety at work, and wages. It was often a fight against windmills, but we succeeded with the help of all our members, students, pensioners, and the unemployed. We have laid the foundation for those we elect to government to work in the interest of all of us. Unfortunately, many have not understood this correctly, nor are they aware of the seriousness of the role they have, so they have put their private interests or the interests of certain groups above the interests of all of us who elected them. They have turned good laws into bad ones, weakened the application of all positive legal acts, so on this May 1st, tens of thousands of workers live in legal uncertainty, with meager incomes, fear of losing their jobs, and with the desire to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina forever," the proclamation states.

The SSS BiH states that workers must be prepared to enter the fight and win their better tomorrow.

"We deserve a dignified life, wages that will provide security for us and our families, a country where justice will prevail and everyone will be equal before the law. No matter how good the laws are on paper, they must be implemented and must bring improvement to workers and others. No matter how good some policy is, nothing will come of it without the active participation of each of us," the SSS BiH states.

As they point out in the May Day proclamation, one of the most urgent and critical challenges facing our country is the creation of more jobs and an increase in workers' wages.

"Workers and trade unions are the economic heart of our country. You are the ones who mine ore, produce, build, provide services, educate, heal, care, and protect. You deserve to be valued in our society. A minimum wage must be defined that will be sufficient to cover at least half of the consumer basket. It is unacceptable that the average wage month after month covers less than half of the minimum living costs for a family of four. All workers must be guaranteed the right to collective bargaining. This is a time for cooperation of all with the aim of financing social protection for all. Those who need it most must not be turned away," the May Day proclamation of SSS BiH states.

It was clearly emphasized at yesterday's meeting that the new Economic and Social Council has not yet been formed, a year after the establishment of the new FBiH Government, even though it is clearly defined that certain legal solutions in the field of economic, social, and development policy must be discussed at the sessions of the Economic and Social Council.