Assembly members left without an answer on how much Sarajevo Canton is indebted, Unions announce warning strikes

(Patria) - Only the Prime Minister of KS Nihad Uk and the Minister of Internal Affairs of KS Admir Katica attended today's session of the KS Assembly, so most of the deputies' questions remained unanswered.

Head of the SDA Club Mahir Dević analyzed the KS Government's conclusion, which was sent to public institutions and introduces austerity measures, stating that any employment must be previously approved by the KS Government.

"Where do you get the right to decide on this? The KS Assembly has not considered or adopted it. If you have a mismatch between revenues and expenditures, you have a clear procedure: you do a budget rebalance. Where does the Government get the right to order anyone to reduce costs, postpone payments? Why are you misleading the public? Come out to the public finally and explain to the citizens what financial abyss you have led us into with your rule", said Dević

He also asked how much the KS Budget deficit is as of today, as well as the debt of Sarajevo Canton.

We remind you that the KS Government made a decision in mid-April to indebt the KS for an additional 117 million KM, of which 75 million KM goes to the accumulated deficit from previous years, while the rest will be spent on capital projects of several ministries.

On the other hand, yesterday the Union of Primary Education and Upbringing of KS announced that there is growing uncertainty among employees in education in Sarajevo Canton regarding the regularity of payments in 2026.

The Union of Primary Education has officially addressed the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the Ministry of Finance, seeking clear answers; are there funds for salaries and will the holiday bonus be paid before the annual leave.

“The Cantonal Board of the 'INDEPENDENT UNION OF PRIMARY EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING OF THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA' - Cantonal Board of the Independent Union of Primary Education and Upbringing of Sarajevo Canton has received numerous inquiries in the past period regarding the payment of salaries and monetary compensation for holiday bonus for the use of annual leave in 2026.

Information is also spreading through kindergartens and schools that the Canton has no money, that the budget was planned incorrectly and is not objective, that the payment of all 12 salaries to workers this year is questionable, and that the holiday bonus will not be paid before the annual leave.

Given the above, we request that you provide us with accurate information regarding salary payments, and we are particularly interested in the timing of the holiday bonus payment to workers in the preschool education and primary education and upbringing sectors in Sarajevo Canton”, the Union's letter states.

The holiday bonus was paid to budget users in September 2025, when the financial situation in the KS budget was also unfavorable.

Several unions have signed new collective agreements with the KS Government, while this has not been done in the communal economy sector, and the previous collective agreement expired at the end of 2025.

Due to this situation, the Union of Communal Economy of Sarajevo Canton announces a two-hour warning strike at all communal companies in Sarajevo Canton during the next week.