Workers' Disobedience: Miners in Seven Mines Halt Work, Demand Fulfillment of Demands

(Patria) - Work has been halted in seven mines in the Bosnian entity of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, owned by the Public Enterprise Elektroprivreda BiH, confirmed this morning for Radio Free Europe (RFE) the President of the Union of Mine Workers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sinan Husić.

Husić said that this is an act of workers' disobedience involving a total of 6,800 miners in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which began on Tuesday at seven o'clock in the morning.

"This is not a symbolic halt, and how long it will last does not depend on us, but on the representatives of the authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the management of the mines, and Elektroprivreda BiH," Husić said.

Miners from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will gather on Tuesday for protests in front of the Government building of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo. The work stoppage, as he stated, is a sign of support for miners coming to the protests.

"We have information that numerous workers, from all parts of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are heading to Sarajevo for the protests," Husić emphasized.

The Independent Union of Mine Workers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is organizing protests due to, as they state, drastic reductions in miners' incomes, which, they claim, are foreseen by new regulations on work and performance.

Husić points out that these regulations reduce the basic salary of an underground digger from the current 850 KM (about 425 euros) to 570 KM (about 285 euros).

Among other things, they warn that miners' years of service have not been properly recorded, because their salaries were paid without contributions for pension insurance.

The Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nermin Džindić, stated, however, for RFE that the regulations on work and performance are in the miners' favor.

"The application of the regulations would lead to an increase in salary for all those who meet the plan. So, if you work and achieve better results, you will get more money, while those who underperform will be 'sanctioned'. And when we talk about sanctions, miners will be minimally or not at all penalized, rather it applies to responsible persons in the production process," Džindić points out.

The tax debt of mines in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as of the end of last year, amounted to nearly 263 million euros.

The mines' debts on all bases amount to more than 460 million euros, and the total loss in 2020 was about 39.5 million euros.