Municipal Court Rules: Strike in Sarajevo Primary Schools is Illegal

(Patria) - The Municipal Court in Sarajevo today issued a ruling determining that the warning strike held in primary schools, organized by the Independent Trade Union of Primary Education and Upbringing (SSOOiO) FBiH - Cantonal Board of Sarajevo Canton, is illegal, the KS Government announced.

"After the Ministry of Education and Science of KS did not receive the Decision on the warning strike, organized by the Independent Trade Union of Primary Education and Upbringing FBiH - Cantonal Board SSOOiO KS, but received the decision on the warning strike informally, the Ministry, through the Legal Affairs of KS, initiated the issue before the competent court regarding the legality of the strike, in order to protect children's rights to upbringing, education and safety, and to ensure the rule of law and prevent arbitrariness and anarchic behavior of the trade union leader.

The Municipal Court in Sarajevo, considering the need for urgent action conditioned by the deadline for issuing a verdict from Article 12 of the Law on Strikes (Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH, No. 14/00), sent the lawsuit to the defendant for a response, and scheduled a hearing for the main trial where it was determined that the formal conditions for organizing a warning strike, prescribed by the Law on Strikes, were not met.

From the explanation of the court's verdict, it follows that the Trade Union did not comply with any of the formal conditions for holding a strike prescribed by the Law on Strikes.

The court did not need to delve into the legality and permissibility of the reasons for which the Trade Union went on strike, because the non-compliance with the formal conditions of the Law on Strikes led to the court's decision in favor of Sarajevo Canton - the Ministry of Education and Science.

An identical illegal strike was organized and carried out in February of this year. At that time, the Ministry of Education and Science of KS did not file a lawsuit with the competent court, which encouraged the Trade Union to repeat it.

Children cannot and must not be victims of adult manipulation, as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is an integral part of the Constitution of BiH, which is confirmed by this verdict.

After this verdict becomes final, the Ministry will initiate misdemeanor and criminal proceedings against the persons who illegally organized the strike," the KS Government announced.