New school year, old problems: General strike looms in secondary schools in HNK

MOSTAR, (Patria) - The new school year began on Monday in primary and secondary schools in BiH, but when it comes to HNK, the same picture is seen again this year. The new school year, like many previous ones, began with a warning strike.

Professors in secondary schools in HNK held a warning strike during the last two class hours in both shifts. It was announced that a general strike would commence if the HNK Government does not meet their demands.

The Presidency of the HNK Secondary School Trade Union decided that a new warning strike would be held on Monday, September 10, and on the same day, trade unionists announced a "protest march". The warning strike will be held during the last two hours of the first shift and the first two hours of the second shift, and a "protest march from Kantarevac to the HNK Government building" is announced for 1 PM.

At the protest, members will use banners, whistles, horns, and drums to express their dissatisfaction with the HNK Government's attitude towards trade union members, the union announced.

Secondary school trade unions operating in HNK previously rejected the government's offer of a ten percent salary increase over three years.

The president of the trade union for secondary schools operating under the Croatian curriculum, Josip Milić, reminded that the trade unions are seeking a 15 percent salary increase, while the HNK Government had previously offered them a gradual increase of 10 percent over the next three years. Milić stated that the income of employees in HNK secondary schools has remained the same since 2009, while the HNK budget has increased in the last seven years.

- My salary in 2011 was 950 KM, in 2018 it was also 950 KM, and the budget is higher by 44 million marks – Milić said at a press conference in Mostar.

The president of the trade union for secondary schools operating under the federal curriculum in HNK, Edina Čomić, also announced that teachers will not shy away from a general strike.

Trade union representatives state that HNK is the only canton in BiH for the second year in a row that has not announced public tenders, which means complete uncertainty for a large number of employees on fixed-term contracts, who make up between 30 and 40 percent of school staff.  

The day after the warning strike in secondary schools, the HNK Government presented the content of the Collective Agreement, which the cantonal government concluded with the Primary Education Trade Unions. The Collective Agreement was presented by the cantonal Minister of Education Rašid Hadžović, accompanied by trade union representatives Omer Tipura and Slavko Lauš.

The most important part of the Collective Agreement defines a 5 percent salary increase for employees in primary schools over the next three years. The total salary increase will actually be slightly more than 15 percent, considering that the base salary, which was already increased in the previous year, will be used for the salary increase in the following year. The representative of the HNK Teachers' Trade Union, Slavko Lauš, said that the negotiations were not without problems, but that they were successfully concluded due to the good will shown by the relevant minister Rašid Hadžović and Prime Minister Nevenko Herceg.

In addition to salary increases, the Collective Agreement provides for a whole range of other benefits for employees in HNK primary education.

Minister Hadžović expressed satisfaction with the reached agreement. Hadžović expressed hope that an agreement could also be reached with the representatives of the Secondary Education Trade Union. Although the trade unions rejected the government's proposal, Hadžović believes that discussions will continue and that a general strike will not occur.

Employees in HNK secondary schools fear uncertainty in negotiations, given that the official election campaign in BiH begins in two days.

There is significant division among employees. Some are optimistic and think that an agreement might still be reached due to the election campaign, while others fear they might be deceived, or that any agreement reached will not be honored after the elections.