Health workers returning uniforms at union's request, meeting with Health Center management scheduled for Friday

(Patria) - The Basic Trade Union Organization of the JU Health Center of Sarajevo Canton (OSOJUDZKS) has called on all its members, as well as members of other health unions in KS, to return their uniforms (in the condition they received them) to their union representatives today.

- We kindly ask all those who have an indefinite employment contract with JUDZKS, and who supported the OSOJUDZKS's stance in a survey that the protective equipment is unusable - harmful (type, characteristics, and behavior of the material in the working conditions intended for health institutions), shameful in appearance/cut, and also completely uncategorized in terms of sizes in the proper way because the clothing sizes marked smaller are larger and wider than those marked larger, with S-sized t-shirts being identical in size to 6XL-sized t-shirts and so on, to immediately return the distributed protective equipment during February 22nd to their central facilities, to the union representatives for further action (Article 53, Paragraph 1, of the Law on Occupational Safety of FBiH) - stated OSOJUDZKS.

Union's demands were not met

When asked what the Union would do with the uniforms, the answer was that they would most likely wait until Friday and the announced meeting between the union and the management of JU Health Center KS, where a decision would be made about the uniforms.

- One of the three agenda items for Friday's meeting will be public procurement, and uniforms will most likely be discussed within that framework. In accordance with the conclusions of the meeting, it will be known what will be done with the collected uniforms and what further steps will be taken to prove the violation of laws and procedures during their procurement - Jasmin Avdović, president of OSOJUDZKS, told us.

The Management Board of the Union of Doctors of Medicine and Dentistry of KS is scheduled to meet tomorrow, where, as the president prim. dr. Izet Hočko told us today, a decision on the uniforms will be made.

- The employer is obliged to provide the employee with all necessary working conditions, which include quality uniforms. The ones that have been procured are not of good quality, as I have seen during yesterday's visit to the health center. They are not suitable for medical staff - emphasized Hočko.

The Trade Union Organization notes that they did not intend to deal with this problem. The only thing they asked for, as Avdović told us, was "that their demands regarding the change in the choice of material to be used in the production of work uniforms be taken into account".

- Given that the Public Procurement Department of JUDZKS disregarded the positions and demands of SRZKS-OSOJUDZKS submitted by letter (Request for the protection of the health of employees in JUDZKS in the procurement procedure of work uniforms for all employees in JUDZKS, Ref: 02/23, dated January 8, 2023), and that the management of JUDZKS did not use the offered opportunity to use their authority to prevent the allegations in our letter before the procurement of uniforms for JUDZKS employees was fully completed, the Presidency of OSOJUDZKS, based on the extensive surveys conducted as well as numerous reports from JUDZKS employees of all profiles and educational levels, has decided on further action with the equipment which we consider harmful to the health of employees, the reputation of JUDZKS, and the trust of citizens in JUDZKS, as well as the fact that it was procured with numerous procedural errors and irregularities. We are of the opinion that every employee who spends their workday in the procured uniform grossly violates every article of the JUDZKS Statute and the JUDZKS Work Regulations, which define causing damage to the reputation and trust of citizens towards JUDZKS, meaning that our reaction unfortunately primarily protects the interests of JUDZKS, even though it is directly aimed at protecting all our workers - stated Avdović.

Let us remind you that the uniforms caused a storm of indignation among doctors, nurses, and technicians when, after 15 years, they received one uniform each for work in the middle of last month to try on.

Health workers raised a number of objections, from the choice of material, which, as Avdović said, most resembles a tarpaulin, to the cuts that are not suitable for the work of medical staff, sizes, colors...

- The material composition is 65 percent polyester and 35 percent cotton, like wearing a tarpaulin. I am a physiotherapist and cannot work in long sleeves; I had to roll up my trousers twice, even though we all wrote down the size we needed, because they are too long. For colleagues who chose skirts instead of trousers, I honestly don't know how they will walk, unless they have completed an advanced course in geisha walking, because they are terribly tight. The tender procedure document indicated that uniforms can be washed at 60 degrees Celsius, but the uniforms we received say 40. I am forbidden to dry them in a dryer, so I received one, and if I get it dirty, what will I wear to work? How will, specifically for my job, oil stains that we use in liters, be washed at 40 degrees Celsius, and dried by tomorrow or the same day, because I don't have another one in my closet - Avdović explained last Friday, the day after all health workers received one uniform each.

The OSOJUDZKS has stated since the beginning of last month that such uniforms pose a health threat to the safety of employees, and they have informed the management of the health institution about this, to whom they sent a request in which, in accordance with the Law on Occupational Safety of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Law on the Employee Council of FBiH, they expressed their dissatisfaction and opposition to such a decision.

However, they were ignored, says Avdović.

Let us also remind you that the company Greensoft d.o.o. from Zenica was chosen for the production of uniforms, with which JU Health Center KS signed a contract at the end of last year. In mid-January, the Health Center KS told Faktor that "the purchase of 7,120 clothing items (blouses, t-shirts, trousers, vests, lab coats) was made after a public procurement procedure, during which all legal procedures were followed, and the Contract, which is published on the Public Procurement Portal, amounts to 399,496.50 KM with VAT".

The company's website states that they are engaged in the production of textile products and that they prioritize health and comfort.

Interestingly, Hatidža Šarić-Tufekčić, a member of the People and Justice party, is listed as the director of the company on this link. She was also on the party's candidate list in last year's elections for the Assembly of Zenica-Doboj Canton.

Photos of Hatidža Šarić-Tufekčić in the company of the president of the People and Justice party, Elmedin Konaković, can be found online.

Given the dissatisfaction of health workers with the new uniforms last Friday, we tried to talk to Šarić-Tufekčić about the issue, but she briefly replied that she was "not involved in that story, that she could not say anything more, and that she works at the company 'Braća Karić'".

OSOJUDZKS emphasizes that "they submitted the letter immediately after learning that the tender procedure had been initiated, i.e., at a time when everyone could have prevented unpleasantness and harmful consequences of any kind together".

- Although in the aforementioned letter, literally in the first sentence, we stated that it was a tender procedure for which we would not delve into the method of supplier selection, because we believe that public procurement is not directly the interest and activity that the employee council/union should deal with, the ignorance of the Public Procurement Department, as well as the lack of reaction from the management, emphasizing the attempts to dispute our demands verbally or through third parties, with unprofessional and unserious claims about the type and quality of the material, we are forced, in the best interest of all employees in JUDZKS and the interest of JUDZKS, to carry out activities regarding the further handling of the procured equipment - says Avdović.

Health Center did not prevent irregularities

They base their actions, as OSOJUDZKS further states, in accordance with the Law on Occupational Safety of the Federation of BiH 79/20 (Articles: 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 29, 34, 35, 40, 43, 44, 45, 50, 53), the right to use rights from Articles 74 and 75 of the same Law on Occupational Safety, which, as they say, they have not yet used in a gentlemanly manner and in good faith for cooperation, and the Law on Employee Councils of FBiH 01-680/04 (Articles: 23, 24, 25 and 28).

- In the sense of Article 22, paragraphs: a), b) and d), and Article 23, paragraphs: 1, 2, and 5, of the Law, JUDZKS, as an employer's obligation under this Law enacted in 2020, or with a later date and which refers to the obligations from this Law, does not possess at all: a valid internal act on occupational safety and an act on risk assessment. Based on the foregoing, and in the sense of Article 23, Paragraph 5, Article 8, Article 9, Paragraph e), the employer, without the mandatory participation of the occupational safety representative, the participation of the union, the cooperation of the employer, employees and their representatives and associations, as well as state bodies competent for occupational safety, should not have even started, let alone fully completed the procurement process of protective equipment, because this is not about consultation but mandatory participation of the aforementioned in such a process. It is unclear on what basis the employer procured uniforms despite the absence of these two acts, based on which a procedure for uniforms procured before its adoption should be established - OSOJUDZKS asks.

They emphasize that "the Public Procurement Department of JUDZKS completed the entire procurement and distribution process of protective equipment, although, as they point out, OSOJUDZKS reacted promptly and without question, but none of their requests were met with understanding, while the management of the Health Center missed the opportunity to prevent irregularities".

- In the sense of Article 35, paragraphs p) and m), we do not know if the occupational safety worker participated in the procurement process of protective equipment in the context of their obligations according to it, but it is provable that cooperation with the union and the occupational safety representative in accordance with this Law was not even attempted - emphasized Avdović.