Higher salaries in BPK Goražde, still at the bottom of the budget column in FBiH

By Ernad Metaj

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The Assembly of BPK Goražde today adopted by majority vote the Law on Harmonization of Salaries of Civil Servants and Employees, which plans for an increase in salaries for employees by up to 20 percent, and for civil servants by up to 10 percent. The law caused considerable debate due to the salary increase for deputies and ministers, as well as the fact that this law does not harmonize the salaries of police and education workers.

- All salaries will be harmonized and increased, and this law is a prerequisite for that, as the salaries of other budget users will be harmonized with this law. Police and education have their collective agreements, and harmonization has already been negotiated with them, so one should not fall for stories that someone will be left out, Finance Minister Esad Kanlić told Patria.

The union of civil servants and employees of FBiH is satisfied with the attitude of the Government of BPK Goražde because this law, in a way, corrects the injustice towards civil servants and employees, and harmonizes the law with federal regulations.

- The Independent Union initiated the adoption of the Law on Salaries and Benefits in the Authorities of BPK Goražde. Given that they had an obligation to adopt the said law in accordance with the Law on Salaries and Benefits in the Authorities of FBiH, which was adopted in 2010. This law will determine the base salary with the representative union every year, and it will be a legal obligation according to the provisions of the collective agreement, Samir Kurtović, president of the Independent Union of Civil Servants, Employees, Judicial Authorities and Public Institutions in FBiH, told us.

Salaries of employees in BPK Goražde ranged from 440 to 600 KM, so this law will increase them by 80 to 120 marks. According to statistical data, salaries in BPK Goražde in the public sector are among the lowest in FBiH. A slightly larger increase was proposed by deputy Nijaz Musić, who proposed an amendment stipulating that the base salary cannot be less than 32 percent of the average salary in FBiH. This would increase salaries by an additional seven to eight percent, which did not receive support at the session of the Assembly of BPK Goražde.

The unions praised the Government of BPK Goražde because they are the only ones in FBiH to reduce the coefficients for the salaries of the prime minister, line ministers, and elected officials. Deputy Edita Velić had a different opinion because the law still increases the salaries of ministers and cantonal deputies.

- If the Government of BPK Goražde had done the same as other cantons, their salaries would have been increased by 100 percent more than what will actually happen, Kurtović told us.

Funds for the implementation of this law are planned in the budget for next year, which the Assembly of BPK Goražde is discussing today.

The union and the Government of BPK Goražde signed an Agreement on determining the base salary for 2022 today, where it is 290 KM. This is the first time that the base salary has been determined in this way.