Kamočaji: The law forced us to remove 1,158 people from the employment registry

The Public Institution Employment Service of Sarajevo Canton did not leave 4,000 unemployed people without health insurance, as some media outlets arbitrarily reported, and most others without any verification of data accuracy, says the Director of the PI Employment Service of KS, Igor Kamočaji, at the beginning of the interview for Patria.

Kamočaji points out that it is about 1,158 people who lost their right to health insurance by being removed from the registry of unemployed persons.

- The removal from the registry, thus a four times smaller number of people, was not a result of the desire 'to hastily reduce the number of unemployed persons', but rather the implementation of the law, which must be respected. I did nothing on my own initiative, that's beyond all reason.

Specifically, the removal of the mentioned number of unemployed persons from the employment registry was carried out on the grounds of obtaining illegal income, and the law clearly states that persons who have earned income exceeding 25% of the average salary in the Federation of BiH are no longer unemployed and cannot be registered with this institution, Kamočaji explains.

He states that this is the essence and truth derived from the law that must be respected, in the same way that some media outlets should respect the fact that the Employment Service does not enact laws but only implements them.

- For the sake of truth, it must be said that the KS Employment Service also had other types of 'removals' that were not 'sensational reading' for certain media outlets, so they did not mention them either.

Namely, in accordance with the current legal regulations (Law on Amendments to the Law on Employment Mediation and Social Security of Unemployed Persons ("Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH", No. 22/05) and the Rulebook on Employment Records ("Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH", No. 24/06), in 2014, 23,561 people were removed from the registry of unemployed in KS.

The removal of unemployed persons from the employment registry, regulated by the aforementioned laws, was carried out on several grounds: employment, regular schooling, retirement, reaching the age of 65, moving to other municipalities, undeclared work, false data and statements, serving a prison sentence, continuing education, etc., and, we remind you, on the grounds of earning income, from any source, exceeding 25% of the average salary in the Federation of BiH, 1,158 people were removed in the same period, says Kamočaji.

The Law and the Rulebook are explicit, states the Director of the KS Employment Service, and all those who have income exceeding 25% of the average salary in FBiH can no longer be registered as unemployed, and the removal of these persons is not a novelty in the practice of the Service, but a continuous process.

- I will remind you that on this basis, by order of the Federal Inspectorate and with their presence in 2007, a large number of people were removed, and no one reacted then. The question now arises whether institutions should or should not respect laws, which, we repeat, the Service does not enact. As for how good the law is or not, we have spoken about it at meetings, and we even sent an official initiative in June last year to increase the amount from 20% to 40%. The response, as you can see for yourselves, was non-existent, Kamočaji reminds and adds:

- I emphasize that all our activities, i.e., business obligations arising from the law, are public and available on the website of the Employment Service www.juszzks.com.ba, in the Statistics link, where we publish a Bulletin – statistical overview every month. Also, our task is to actively and regularly check the status of our records, i.e., the data on whether persons who are employed or are part of the grey market are on our records.

THOSE WHO WERE REMOVED CAN RE-REGISTER

Unemployed persons who were removed from the registry of the Sarajevo Canton Employment Service due to earning income exceeding 25% of the average salary in the Federation, if circumstances change, can re-register with the registry of unemployed.

In that case, the unemployed person must prove that they are not earning the aforementioned income and, therefore, when registering, must submit proof – a certificate from the Tax Administration, confirming that they are not currently earning income.

RIGHT TO HEALTH INSURANCE

The Law on Health Insurance (Official Gazette of FBiH no. 30/97, 7/02, 70/08 and 48/11) did not stipulate the right to health insurance upon re-registration in these cases.

These persons can obtain health insurance through voluntary insurance at the Sarajevo Canton Health Insurance Fund. Health insurance can be obtained by children up to 15 years of age, pupils, full-time students up to 26 years of age, demobilized defenders, war veterans, civilian victims of war (over 60% disability), in municipal services according to their place of residence, and wards of social institutions and beneficiaries of social protection through the social work center.