Online protests, petition, initiatives to prime ministers for workers in the trade sector to have a day off

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The online protest "Free for Holidays!" organized by the Union of Trade and Service Workers of Bosnia and Herzegovina began today at noon.

At a press conference organized on the occasion of the first online workers' protests in BiH, the Union of Trade and Service Workers of BiH (STBiH) called on all BiH citizens to click on the website www.slobodnizapraznike.com, leave their
comment and sign the online petition addressed to the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH, Fadil Novalić.

For STBiH, April 29 has become a traditional day of action because workers in this sector cannot use May 1, Labor Day, to articulate issues important to them, the Union of Trade and Service Workers of BiH announced.

Namely, in the trade and service sector, workers do not have a day off for holidays, nor a day they could use for any form of union struggle, which is a consequence of the lack of political will to adopt a law on holidays in BiH, as well as the absence of binding acts, mechanisms and instruments that would guarantee all workers in BiH, regardless of the place and sector in which they work, equal opportunities and rights related to non-working days on holidays, it was emphasized at the press conference.

"When it comes to legal regulations in BiH related to work during holidays, the situation is chaotic. At the level of the Federation of BiH, we do not have a law on holidays, that is, there is a law inherited from the former state which cannot be found. There are also bright examples, such as the West Herzegovina Canton, where a Law on Holidays was adopted that regulates work on holidays, Sundays, and criminal provisions for those
who violate the provisions of the law, ranging from 500 to 5,000 KM. In the municipality of Čitluk, a Decision was also adopted prohibiting work on Sundays, defining work on holidays, as well as criminal provisions which in this case go up to 10,000 KM," said Željka Rubinić, regional commissioner of STBiH - Herzegovina Region.

Dragan Došen, regional commissioner of STBiH - Northwest Region, pointed out that in this area there are different regulations regarding work on holidays and Sundays.

"In Sanski Most, it is regulated that working hours on Sundays are until 12, and in Bihać until 10 p.m. A decision was recently adopted by the Banja Luka City Assembly defining working hours on Sundays until 10 p.m., while a previous decision stipulated work until 8 p.m. In the Northwest Region, but also in the rest of BiH, the lack of labor force in the trade sector is increasingly noticeable," said Došen.

It is precisely the fact that workers in the trade sector do not have the right to a day off that determined the leadership and membership of STBiH to hold an online protest.

"I work for a company that operates in both BiH entities and is committed to respecting legal regulations regarding workers' rights, which includes work on holidays. The fact that there is no law also bothers employers, because in such a situation, an employer ensures a day off for employees, while their competitor works on that day. So, for employers to respect the law, the authorities must first adopt that law," said Blaženka Marković, chief commissioner of STBiH in Konzum BiH.

The online protest is a contribution and support to the initiative that STBiH addressed to the executive and legislative authorities in the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska.

"We submitted initiatives to the Prime Minister of FBiH, Fadil Novalić, and the President of the Government of RS, Radovan Višković, with the aim of systematically regulating work on holidays and finding solutions that will enable workers in trade and service industries to have a non-working day for holidays, with clearly emphasized mechanisms for implementing such legal solutions and criminal measures for those who
violate the right of trade workers to a day off for holidays. If the FBiH Government rejects our proposals, we in STBiH are ready to propose amendments to the law, specifically the Law on Internal Trade of FBiH and the Labor Law of FBiH, in order to regulate the right that allows workers in the trade sector to be free for holidays. In this regard, we have already had talks with
representatives of parties from both the ruling and opposition in the FBiH Parliament, who, as authorized proposers, are ready to propose the adoption of amendments to these laws. Just before coming to this press conference, we received a response to our initiative from the negotiating team of the FBiH Government, stating that they are ready to discuss our initiatives after obtaining opinions from the relevant ministries," said Mersiha Beširović, president of STBiH.

During the one-hour online protest, the campaign "Free for Holidays" was supported by 34,048 citizens, and the live stream was watched by more than 5,000 people.

Those present at the conference once again called on all citizens of BiH to support workers in the trade and service sector by clicking on the website www.slobodnizapraznike.com and signing the petition by May 30, so they can realize their right and be – "Free for Holidays!".