Representative Trade Unions in BiH Lodge Complaint Over Base Salary Amount: General Strike Not Ruled Out

(Patria) - The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Decision on the base salary amount for 2025, which is 631.5 KM, an increase of 31.5 KM compared to the previous year.

However, this increase only meets the legal minimum, meaning that employees at the state institution level in BiH will continue to stagnate compared to their colleagues at lower levels of government, warn the representative trade unions in BiH.
They have lodged a complaint, which they sent to the Presidency of BiH and all members of the Council of Ministers of BiH.

"Trade union demands, which sought a base salary of 680 KM, have not been met, causing justified frustration among workers. The base salary increase adopted by the Council of Ministers, although legally necessary, does not keep pace with the living standards of employees, let alone an actual increase.

The legal minimum set as the base for salary calculation reflects only minimal requirements, while the trade union demands at the BiH institutions level aimed to ensure fairer compensation for workers, considering inflation, cost of living, and increased demands for better working conditions. Unfortunately, the authorities at the BiH institutions level have not adopted measures that would adequately reflect the needs of employees, thereby once again ignoring the importance of workers' rights to fair compensation for their work.

Although the decision of the Council of Ministers of BiH has been made, it will not immediately result in higher salaries for employees, as the new base will not be applied until the Budget for 2025 is adopted.

Unfortunately, based on past experience, the last budget adopted on time was the budget for 2016, and we express concern that the base salary calculation will not start being applied from January 2025, but significantly later. This significantly jeopardizes workers' rights and the stability of their income, while simultaneously creating an even greater gap and difference between their income and the income of appointed and elected officials in BiH institutions.

Workers' rights to regular and dignified salary payments, as well as to an adequate standard of living, should be a priority for all institutions. In this context, it is necessary to recognize that every delayed step in realizing workers' rights directly affects the quality of life of workers, their obligations to their families, and general economic security.

The legal minimum base salary is insufficient for workers who truly contribute to the functioning of state-level institutions, and the authorities should ensure salary levels that correspond to the rise in living costs and the improvement of their working conditions. Trade union demands for an increase in the base salary to 680 KM are not just a statistical number, but represent the necessity for improving workers' rights to fair and just payment for their work.

If these rights are not respected, not only is the basic workers' right to fair compensation violated, but workers' trust in the institutions that should protect their interests is undermined. This is not just about financial resources, but about basic justice that should be the foundation of any system, including the labor system.

Given all the challenges and uncertainties regarding the budget adoption, we call on all competent institutions, including the Fiscal Council, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Presidency of BiH, and the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, to take urgent and responsible steps to ensure the 2025 Budget is adopted on time.

We call on the Council of Ministers of BiH and the General Secretariat to adopt the Collective Agreement as soon as possible, as only in this way can dignified salaries for employees be ensured and basic workers' rights, which have unfortunately been constantly neglected, be fulfilled.

We call on you to urgently amend the unfair Law on Salaries and Benefits, as well as the Labor Law, with the mandatory inclusion of representatives of the representative trade unions in their drafting.

Otherwise, workers at the BiH institutions level will be forced to continue working with inadequate compensation for their efforts, which will not only jeopardize their economic position but also their motivation and trust in the institutions that should guarantee their rights, and the representative trade unions will have to apply other legal means of struggle, which does not exclude a general strike," the complaint states, signed by Radenko Mirković (SDSZ BIH), Ana Mrnjavac (SUINO), and Edin Kahrimanović (SSPO in BIH).