SIPA Union to Authorities: Stop the Collapse of Police Agencies

(Patria) - The Union of the State Investigation and Protection Agency calls on all competent institutions from the Council of Ministers, through the Presidency, to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina to show concern for employees in state-level police agencies and, by adopting a base salary calculation of 535.00 KM, restore at least some dignity to all of us and stop the further collapse of Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions. 

"The Union wishes to point out that, in addition to the failure to adopt the base salary calculation, there are many other problems affecting employees in police agencies, which are causing growing dissatisfaction among all categories on a daily basis.

Namely, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Council of Ministers has been distributing protective equipment and disinfectants to entities and cantons, forgetting the more than 20,000 employees in Bosnia and Herzegovina's institutions, including those in police agencies. Now they are avoiding returning the base salary to the 2008 level, citing the need for vaccine procurement. However, state-level police officers, who are fighting the most serious forms of crime, the migrant crisis, and ensuring their protection, have not been included in the priority vaccination plan by any entity, and the Council of Ministers has not made a statement.

Furthermore, we must emphasize that neither the Ministry of Security nor the competent Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been involved in resolving the issue of discrimination against police officers residing in the Republika Srpska region during their retirement. 

We also point out that since 2008, civil servants in the State Investigation and Protection Agency who perform operational and investigative tasks have not been able to exercise their right to a special salary supplement, even though this right, up to 25%, is clearly established by the Law on Salaries in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Not to mention that state-level police officers are the only ones in the world not insured against accidents, do not have medical examinations, and we could go on listing...

Employees in police agencies work for a salary of 665.00 KM, while the lowest salary for the same or similar jobs at lower levels of government is 800.00 KM.

We are the only ones at the state level without a collective agreement and an Economic and Social Council, and we could list more problems that are causing the number of employees to decrease daily, as they move to other institutions at lower levels or go into the private sector.

Considering all of the above, we once again call on authorized representatives in the institutions to, as a first step, adopt the base salary calculation and thereby stop the collapse of police agencies, thus restoring at least some trust and dignity to employees in Bosnia and Herzegovina's police agencies, and then proceed to resolve the other issues. Otherwise, the Union, in coordination with other state-level unions, will be forced to take more radical measures to protect the rights and jobs of its members," stated the president of the SIPA Union, Edin Kahrimanović.