UPFBiH calls on deputies and delegates of PFBiH to support and adopt financial and labor laws

(Patria) - The Employers' Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina calls on the deputies and delegates of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH to support and adopt a set of key financial and labor laws at the upcoming sessions, which represent key regulations from reform packages in the coming period.

On the agenda of the House of Representatives on March 11 and 12, among other things, are draft laws in the fields of banking, payment services, electronic money, microcredit sector, protection of financial services users and payment accounts, which are proposed under an urgent procedure.

"The adoption of this set of laws represents an important step towards modernizing the financial system of the Federation of BiH, strengthening the security and transparency of payment transactions, accelerating digitalization, and further aligning with European Union practices.

The special significance of this package lies in the fact that it is part of the reform package, i.e., a prerequisite for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Accession to SEPA would enable simpler, faster, and cheaper cross-border payment transactions with European Union countries, which would bring significant benefits to the economy through reduced costs of international payments, more efficient company operations, and greater competitiveness of the domestic economy in the European market. These are reforms that directly affect the business environment, the availability of financial services, and investor confidence, as a stable, modern, and regulatorily compliant financial system is one of the foundations of sustainable economic growth. At the same time, this financial reform will certainly contribute to the confidence of international organizations and institutions towards businessmen from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will significantly affect the avoidance of BiH being placed on the Moneyval grey list, which would be truly devastating, especially for the foreign trade operations of BiH companies," stated the Employers' Association of FBiH.

The session will also discuss amendments to the Law on Employment of Foreigners and the new Law on Employment Mediation and Social Security of Unemployed Persons, which are of particular importance at a time when the economy is facing a serious shortage of labor, which is why improving the legislative framework in the field of the labor market is crucial for preserving investments, realizing contracted jobs, and further development of the domestic economy, while simultaneously preserving the social security of unemployed persons.

"These laws would improve the employment mediation process, separate records of active job seekers from persons who are on records due to health and social insurance, reduce the grey labor market and workforce, and enable the employment of foreign workers in situations where there is insufficient domestic labor for certain jobs to function within legal, transparent procedures."

The Employers' Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has repeatedly pointed out the need for systemic reforms, both in the financial sector and the labor market. The adoption of these laws represents a concrete step towards a more stable business environment, a stronger economy, and accelerated European integration, while missing this opportunity represents a clear postponement of the adoption of these laws for a longer and uncertain period, stagnation of the labor market and workforce, and the continuation of the process of engagement of our workers in the EU market and the general emigration of workers and the population from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Given that these laws have been harmonized by all social partners, we call on deputies and delegates to show their commitment to reforms and to support the adoption of the proposed laws in the interest of the development of the Federation of BiH, the business community, and citizens' standards.