Unions tell Sarajevo Canton Government they are violating the Collective Agreement: We will have to seek our rights in front of the Canton building

(Patria) - The Independent Union of Civil Servants and Employees of Sarajevo Canton strongly condemns the decision of the Sarajevo Canton Government to adopt the Draft Budget of KS for 2026, without prior negotiation with the Union on the amount of the base salary calculation within the framework of social dialogue.

"With this act, the Government has not respected the provision of Article 56, Paragraph 3 of the Collective Agreement, which stipulates that the base salary calculation is, as a rule, agreed upon before the adoption of the Draft Budget," the Union announced.

The President of the Independent Union of Civil Servants and Employees of Sarajevo Canton, Elvis Zornić, stated that this move represents a continuation of irresponsible and immature behavior towards state employees, as well as towards all other budget users.

"We remind you that our Union, together with other unions through the Coordination of Sarajevo Unions, initiated the process of opening negotiations on the base salary at the beginning of October, which was clearly ignored by the KS Government.

This is another example that the Sarajevo Canton Government does not respect the agreed provisions of the Collective Agreement, and that unions and dissatisfied employees have to seek their rights in front of the Canton building. Unfortunately, it seems that the fight for the respect of workers' rights will have to continue this year.

Therefore, we most strongly condemn this move by the KS Government and call for immediate negotiations to find a solution in accordance with the Collective Agreement," Zornić said.

At a time when the base salary calculation in KS is the lowest in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, when the increase in the minimum wage to 1000 KM has swallowed four salary grades in state service, when for three consecutive years the salary of unskilled workers is catching up to the salary of higher clerks with secondary education, and today it is equalized, when the lowest employee coefficients are supplemented to reach the guaranteed wage, when there is no willingness to amend the Law on Salaries and Benefits at the FBiH level, and when the only way for everyone to receive a justified salary in accordance with their responsibilities and the complexity of their work is precisely to increase the base salary, such a move by the Sarajevo Canton Government will not be received well by all of us who work in the state service bodies of Sarajevo Canton.

If the Sarajevo Canton Government does not immediately open constructive social dialogue and start negotiations on the amount of the base salary, the Union will be forced to take all legally permitted measures to protect the rights of workers.

The Cantonal Board of the Independent Union of Primary Education and Upbringing also responded, warning the Prime Minister of KS that Article 51 of the Collective Agreement, which would increase workers' salaries by 0.6% for each year of pensionable service, has not been amended.

"We warn that further violation of the Collective Agreement will lead to a situation where the Union will be forced to exercise workers' rights in other ways, and we hereby warn you that the KS Government will have to take responsibility in public for acting contrary to the provisions of the Collective Agreement," reads the statement signed by the Union President Saudin Sivro.