SIPA Trade Union Demands Base Salary Calculation of 630 KM

(Patria) - The SIPA Trade Union, via email, sent a request to the Chairperson and all ministers in the Council of Ministers of BiH for the urgent adoption of the base salary calculation for 2023 and the proposal for the draft Budget of institutions for 2023, in which they demand the adoption of the proposed base salary of 630 KM.  

"Given that the Framework Budget Document for the period 2023-2025 has been adopted, creating the conditions for the adoption of the Budget of institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2023, and that the Decision on the base salary calculation for all employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina has not yet been adopted, as a representative trade union in the State Investigation and Protection Agency, we demand the urgent adoption of the Proposal for the Decision on the base salary amount of 630.00 KM for the salary calculation of employees in BiH institutions in 2023.

Namely, during 2022, the salary calculation for employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina was returned after 12 years to the amount of 535.00 KM, which was applied back in 2009. Therefore, the adoption of the base salary of 630.00 KM would represent the first salary increase for employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while in the past 13 years, salaries of employees in lower-level authorities have increased by up to 100% in the meantime. The long-standing ignorance of employees at the Bosnia and Herzegovina level, due to inflation and constant price increases, has led us to a difficult financial situation, facing daily departures of employees, thus losing already trained and experienced staff, long-term investigators - police officers, which represents an additional cost, given that it is necessary to secure funds for the training and education of new police officers.

The SIPA Trade Union is aware that the situation is no better in other police agencies at the Bosnia and Herzegovina level, which lack a large number of staff, nor in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have been brought into a situation where, due to disinterest caused by low incomes, it is impossible to fill vacant positions.

We consider the request for the adoption of the base salary calculation in the amount of 630.00 KM to be justified, considering that it represents an increase of 17.75%, which is 1% more than last year's inflation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus again putting employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a very difficult financial situation because the increase is lost in daily price increases.

In this regard, considering all of the above, we ask that you urgently adopt the draft Budget for 2023 and forward it for further procedure on an urgent basis with the proposed base salary calculation of 630.00 KM.

We also call on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to amend the Decision on the manner and procedure for employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to exercise the right to compensation for official travel in terms of the daily allowance amount from the current 25.00 to 60.00 KM as soon as possible, and potentially to define "official travel" and "operational work" of police officers differently.

Likewise, bearing in mind the invitations to meetings sent by the Union of Trade Unions of Police Bodies of BiH, the Trade Union of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, and the Trade Union of Civil Servants and Employees in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we hope that a dialogue will begin soon with the aim of concluding a collective agreement," the SIPA Trade Union announced.