Urgent reaction from BiH Parliament requested: BHRT account blocked, pension contributions unpaid for 20 months

A warning protest by the Independent Trade Union of BHRT Workers was held today in the RTV House building in Sarajevo due to the unresolved issue of financing for Radio-Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT). During the protest, it was announced that the BHRT account has been blocked. The main demand is the urgent resolution of the stable financing problem for BHRT within 60 days.

The president of the Independent Trade Union of BHRT Workers, Damir Smital, stated that pension contributions for BHRT workers have not been paid for over 20 months, while BHRT has been regularly paying a loan for a part of the digital equipment acquired during the digitalization process, Patria reports.

Smital said that the ignorant attitude of the authorities, namely the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, as the founder of BHRT, has gone too far.

- We demand urgent amendments to the Law on the Public RTV System within 60 days to ensure stable financing for BHRT. So far, parliamentarians have found a new problem for every solution. We are requesting an urgent meeting with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, his deputies, and the relevant minister - said Smital.

The Independent Trade Union of BHRT Workers has also requested a meeting with the collegiums of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH to present their solutions and hear their proposed ways of resolving this issue.

The president of the trade union also advocated for the involvement of state and entity audit bodies in all three public broadcasters to determine the situation and prosecute those responsible, regardless of who they are.

- The current Management Boards of BHRT, as well as the Management Boards of the entity broadcasters, which together form the System Board, have done absolutely nothing to ensure the implementation of the Law on the Public RTV System, specifically the part concerning the distribution of funds from RTV fees. The BiH Parliament, as well as the entity parliaments and assemblies, have done nothing to sanction their inaction - said Smital.

The trade union demands that the new Management Board of BHRT and the BHRT management resolve the issue of collecting fees for services provided by BHRT workers to Radio-Television of Federation, and after financing is resolved, to create a new organization and a fair systematization, as they believe the current system has not proven effective.

They will insist on signing a collective agreement, as currently, due to the absence of a collective agreement for workers in BiH institutions, as well as the absence of a collective agreement at BHRT, workers' rights have been reduced to a minimum.

Support for BHRT Workers

The president of the Alliance of Independent Trade Unions of BiH, Ismet Bajramović, also expressed support for the protests by members of the Independent Trade Union of BHRT Workers. He stated that the Alliance had sent a letter to the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Mladen Bosić and Ognjen Tadić, requesting an urgent resolution of the financing problem for the Public Service.

The president of the Trade Union of Primary and Secondary Education of the Federation of BiH, Selvedin Šatorović, also supported the efforts of BHRT workers, as did the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska.

The General Secretary of the BH Journalists Association, Borka Rudić, stated that it is clear from what has been seen so far that politicians have no intention of preserving the BiH Public Service, which is why the trade union must speak with one voice and create a common strategy. Rudić also called on other trade unions within the Public Service to join this struggle.

- It is clear that if BHRT fails, no other public service will survive - warned Borka Rudić.