It's Good to Be a Council Member in Republika Srpska: Social Partners Get 2,000 KM Per Session

Members of the Economic and Social Council of Republika Srpska, five of them, received 7,400 KM in compensation for their work in the Council over the past two years, despite holding only four sessions in this period, reports the Patria News Agency.

This means they received almost 2,000 KM per session, which lasts at most a few hours, and some even significantly less, reveals the business portal CAPITAL.ba.

Nine members participate in the work of the Economic and Social Council, with three representatives each from the Government of Republika Srpska, the majority representative trade union, and the majority representative employers' association at the RS level.

Each member has a deputy with the same rights and obligations and a four-year mandate.

Six members are entitled to compensation, namely representatives of trade unions and employers, while representatives of the Government in the Council are not entitled to compensation.

The Ministry of Labor and Veterans' Affairs confirmed that five members regularly receive compensation, as the Vice-President of the Union of Employers' Associations of Republika Srpska, Saša Trivić, renounced this compensation.

"Members of the Economic-Social Council appointed on behalf of the Alliance of Trade Unions and the Union of Employers' Associations receive compensation for their work, which amounted to 370 KM per month individually, and after the introduction of a special solidarity contribution, the net amount of individual compensation was reduced to 296 KM," they confirmed to CAPITAL from the Ministry of Labor, adding that in 2014 and 2015, 44,400 KM was paid in compensation for the work of ESC members.

The fewest sessions since the establishment of the ESC were held in 2014 and 2015.

The Report on the Work of the Economic-Social Council of Republika Srpska for 2014, recently adopted by the Government of RS, stated that the work of this body was marked by frequent conflicts between representatives of employers and trade unions due to different views on the need to adopt a new labor law.

"The Economic-Social Council of Republika Srpska held a total of two sessions in 2014, one extraordinary and one regular, which represents the smallest number of sessions held since the establishment of this body. In addition to the held sessions, three more were scheduled but not held due to the inability of social partners to agree on the agenda," the report stated.

The situation was no better last year. Only two sessions were held, and five more were scheduled, but they were not held for the same reasons as in 2014.