Two May Day protest marches by workers in Sarajevo tomorrow

(Patria) - The Trade Union of Workers in BiH and the Union of Metalworkers of FBiH are organizing a May Day protest march in Sarajevo.

Members of the Union of Workers in Trade and Services of BiH will gather on May 1st in front of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly building at 10:30 AM, and the protest walk will end at the EU Delegation building.

The motto of the May Day march is “EU – Are we going, or is it over? Will a better life for workers in BiH start, and when?”, and the Union wants to draw attention to the difficult position of employees in this sector and to tell the authorities at all levels what they expect from them.

STBiH reminds that on March 21, 2024, BiH received the green light to start membership negotiations with the European Union, and that this important moment was the focus in the past year, while other processes in the country were in the shadow.

„Although this step is more a result of geopolitical (im)possibilities than of Bosnia and Herzegovina's actual progress, it is very important for workers to know how this process concerns them and what benefits the process brings that will improve the status of workers. It is also very important for the authorities in BiH to know that STBiH will not allow this process to proceed without the participation of trade unions, and that we will clearly demand that workers also benefit from it through the rule of law, as well as through the process of harmonizing domestic legislation with EU directives.

The May Day protest march will be an opportunity to highlight the importance of this process, in order to present our demands to the BiH authorities, and to inform the European Union Delegation in BiH about it. In addition, the march will be an opportunity for STBIH to present the past 365 days of the lives of workers in trade, the problems they faced, the expectations they had but did not materialize, as well as what they expect in the coming period,” say STBiH.

The Union points out that, in addition to celebrating the most important workers' holiday, the march will be an opportunity to present clear demands to all levels of government in BiH, as well as to capital owners.

STBiH invites all workers, regardless of the sector they work in, as well as all citizens, to join them at the May Day protest march.

„Let's not allow the integration of BiH into the EU to be some imaginary process from which only political representatives in BiH benefit. We must give this process the face of the worker and participate in it directly. We can do it. We must. And we will,” STBiH states.

As stated by the Union of Metalworkers of FBiH, the difficult financial situation of metalworkers necessitates an urgent increase in wages, through an increase in the hourly rate via a sectoral collective agreement.

“The rise in prices is eating away at workers' wages. According to the data we provided to the Employers' Association for review, in the last four years, a working family of four, with one member working and receiving the average wage in FBiH, has incurred a deficit of over 65,000 KM. Workers survive by patching things up with short-term loans or borrowing, or by working one or two additional jobs when they should be resting from hard labor,” the Union states.

Given that the Employers' Association has refused negotiations on wage increases, and that neither the law on minimum wage nor the set of fiscal laws have been adopted, the Union of Metalworkers wants to publicly express its dissatisfaction.

The main demands they are putting before the FBiH government are an increase in the lowest net hourly wage from 4.40 KM to 5.68 KM, and the urgent submission and adoption of the Law on Minimum Wage, as well as the Law on Contributions and the Law on Income Tax, which will reduce tax obligations and enable wage increases for all workers.

If these demands are not met, the Union will decide on further union activities, including the possibility of a general strike at the metal industry level in FBiH.
The gathering will start at 10 AM from the Square of the First Corps of the Army of RBiH (near the Trade Union House) to the Employers' Association, where they will present their demands, and then continue the walk all the way to the Government of FBiH.

A press conference of the Union of Metalworkers of FBiH will be held in the Energoinvest building.