Unions Respond to Forto: BHANSA Employees Received 80% of Salary for March, April, and May, and You Refuse a Meeting

(Patria) - The Union of Area Controllers, the Union of Air Traffic Controllers, and the Association of Controllers have reacted to the statements made yesterday by the Minister of Transport and Communications of BiH, Edin Forto.

"Regarding the statement of the Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Edin Forto, made in relation to allegations about sick leave of employees of the Air Navigation Services Agency of BiH (BHANSA), we consider it our obligation to provide accurate information to the public and competent institutions.

Namely, contrary to the claim that 'there was no salary reduction,' we inform the public that BHANSA employees have been paid only 80% of their full salary for the past three months – for March, April, and May 2025 – which represents a direct reduction of guaranteed workers' rights.

Representative unions of BHANSA have sent letters to Minister Forto's office twice in the past period, requesting a meeting on the topic of establishing minimum work processes, but to date, we have not received any response.

We also want to clearly state that the unions have no connection with the sick leave taken by BHANSA employees, nor are they involved in any way in procedures related to individual workers' rights based on health status. However, as Minister Forto stated in his address that if there are certain demands, they should be presented – we take this opportunity to emphasize once again that the representative unions and the association have a concrete and clear demand that they have already expressed twice in the previous period: an urgent meeting to discuss the adoption of minimum work processes," their reaction states.

They remind the minister that at a meeting held in April this year, in the presence of union representatives, he personally stated that after the Council of Ministers makes a relevant decision, he would be ready to respond to the request for a meeting and sit down with the unions to discuss and negotiate minimum work processes.

"Given that the decision has been made, we believe it is high time for the promise to be fulfilled. We emphasize that minimum work processes are a document that is drafted and adopted exclusively with the consent of the unions, and neither party can adopt them unilaterally. We stress that minimum processes at BHANSA have not been adopted since 2014, which violates obligations under labor legislation and creates space for serious disruptions in the system.

At a previous meeting last year with the Agency's Management, representative unions clearly expressed their readiness for an agreement and the establishment of realistic minimum processes. However, the Management's offer was completely unacceptable – that the minimum processes be identical to full working capacity, which essentially renders the concept of minimum work processes meaningless and represents an attempt to derogate from the rights of employees and union activities.

BHANSA employees, including union representatives, are always committed to preserving air traffic safety and fulfilling BiH's international obligations. However, this must be accompanied by dialogue, respect for laws and workers' rights, not by unfounded suspicions and unilateral statements that further erode trust," they conclude.