UPFBiH: If governments don't adopt measures, tens of thousands of workers will be laid off

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Employers' Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is appalled by the lack of seriousness of the measures proposed by the Government of the Federation of BiH. It is obvious that they are either unaware of the gravity of the situation or do not care about the situation in which the economy and workers in the real sector find themselves. The work processes and tens of thousands of jobs in companies are threatened due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We emphasize that life and health come first and we support all measures that competent authorities are taking to prevent the spread of infection, but such measures must be accompanied by a set of other economic measures. It is completely unacceptable that due to the ban on work in certain activities or due to the impossibility of carrying out work processes, tens of thousands of workers will lose their jobs. We urgently call on the Government of the Federation of BiH, the Union of Independent Trade Unions of BiH to reach an agreement whereby the state, employers, and workers themselves will share the burden for workers who would lose their jobs,” say UPFBiH.

UPFBiH once again calls on the Government of FBiH to enable continuous daily communication with the Crisis Staff formed by UPFBiH and the Chamber of Commerce of FBiH. If they don't know what to do, they should look at the measures and solutions in force in other countries.

The position and lack of reaction from the Banking Agency of FBiH regarding the proposal of the Employers' Crisis Staff to introduce a moratorium on loan repayment for legal and natural persons is completely incomprehensible.

"We call on authorities at lower levels of government, cantons, cities, and municipalities to urgently adopt measures within their jurisdiction that will mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and jobs. Along with the priority of preserving human life and health, the priority must also be the preservation of jobs and the economic security of workers," state UP FBiH.