Unions of Employees in BiH Institutions Wrote to the BiH Presidency: Urgently Propose the Budget for Procedure

(Patria) - Representatives of the Representative Unions at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely the Union of Civil Servants and Employees, the Union of the Indirect Taxation Authority, and the Union of Police Bodies representing the SIPA Union, the Border Police Union, and the Union of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies, held a meeting on July 3, 2025, regarding the non-adoption of the Budget of Institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2025 with the Minister of Finance and Treasury in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Srđan Amidžić, who stated that this ministry had completed all obligations related to the preparation of the Budget and that the problem arose when the Presidency, as the proposer of the Budget, requested the inclusion of seven cultural institutions for which conditions had not been met to become budget beneficiaries in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Financing Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, these unions sent a letter to the members of the BiH Presidency.

"On this occasion, we wish to inform you that certain categories of employees in institutions are on the verge of existence and receive a monthly salary ranging from 720.00 to 960.00 KM, which is below the minimum wage set in both entities, and they barely make ends meet. We emphasize that all employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, approximately 23,000 in all three categories, are the worst paid compared to employees at other levels of government, entity, cantonal, and even municipal levels, and that the non-adoption of the Budget keeps the amount of income for all mentioned employees at the 2024 level, while daily price increases make life impossible for them.

Due to all the above, we appeal to you, in accordance with the powers arising from the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to URGENTLY propose the Budget to the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In this regard, considering the current material status of employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the great growing dissatisfaction among all employees, we request an URGENT meeting to discuss the issues related to the Budget for 2025 and to inform you of all the problems that employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina are "facing" due to the non-adoption of the Budget.

If you ignore our request, we note that we will be forced to take other, much more radical steps of union struggle for the rights of our members in accordance with the laws that regulate this," the unions state.