DEVASTATING ANALYSIS: Only 6.6 Percent of Union Members Attended Protests

President of the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ismet Bajramović states that workers showed unity, as, according to his estimates, nearly 12,000 of them were on the streets of Sarajevo during the demonstrations on Thursday.

Bajramović said at a press conference on Saturday that the protest demonstrated unity and gave the Union a tailwind for the actions that will follow.

Workers protested in front of the building of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina while the House of Peoples was adopting the new Labor Law, as part of reforms in BiH, which the Union claims takes away workers' basic human rights. The Union promised workers it would stop the adoption of the Law in the form proposed by the FBiH Government, but in the end, that did not happen.

Those familiar with the events within the Union of Independent Trade Unions of BiH say that the umbrella workers' organization has never been more divided, and that the Union has never had less influence among workers.

The figure of around 12,000 workers during the demonstrations on July 30 in front of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina shows nothing other than that the Union is on its knees.

Former president of the Unis Pretis Union from Vogošća, Mujo Ahmedspahić, told the news agency Patria that the Union counts up to 180,000 members, so the figure of 12,000 workers at the demonstrations is devastating, that it is only 6.6 percent of Union members, and that the figure actually reflects the true weakness of the Union.

Ahmedspahić, he says, was willing to help strengthen the Union, but was expelled from it a few months ago for pointing out incorrect work within the Union.

Also, the president of the Union of Primary Education and Upbringing of Sarajevo Canton and a member of the Main Board of the SSS BiH, Saudin Sivro, warned on Thursday about problems in the SSS BiH, and at one point even called for the removal of President Bajramović.

The problem, Sivro told the media, is not when Bajramović has a salary of 3,500 KM, but whether he does a good job.

According to data from the Agency for Statistics of BiH, in March 2015, the number of employees in legal entities in BiH was 707,560, but only 25 percent of them are union members, which analysts consider a sufficient indicator that workers have no confidence in the Union, which has been led by Bajramović for a second term, writes Patria.