Author: Elvir Ibrišimović
We have witnessed that the post-war years in Bosnia and Herzegovina were not favorable to the workers. Bad privatization, low employment, dismissal of workers, and weak controls and supervision over the respect of workers’ rights are just some of the injustices that our society has been suffering for decades.
Even the mass departure of young people from the country, and the COVID-19 crisis in recent years, did not set off the alarm that workers should be taken seriously.
However, just when we thought that there was no hope and that we should understand all those who leave this area, a positive story is happening in the far north-east of Bosnia whose actors are the Trade and Service Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina (STBIH) and the City of Bijeljina.
Namely, the Agreement on joint action in the field of protection of workers’ rights and their interests was signed, which, believe it or not, represents actions, not empty words, as was the practice in our society for many years after the war.
In support of this, the President of the Trade Union, Mersiha Beširović, proudly answered questions for the Local Works.
What can you tell us about the reason and content of the agreement with the City of Bijeljina?
– Memorandum on cooperation that STBIH signed with the mayor of Bijeljina, Mr. Ljubiša Petrović in April 2022, is one of the agreements that STBIH signed with a number of municipalities throughout BiH. It concerns the support of women workers in trade and includes joint action in order to exercise their rights and protect their interests. Cooperation with the City of Bijeljina and its mayor went a step further than in other municipalities and cities, because the commitment of this city administration was led by Mr. Petrović, the protection and promotion of workers’ interests, which is more the exception than the rule in our country.
What is important to emphasize is that this is the first time that the municipal level deals with labor rights at all. That was not their competence until now. Such positive examples from practice show very clearly how it is possible to deal with what is an existential issue where and when there is a will for it. The higher levels of government in BiH, which should deal with this issue, are focused on other, less important topics for the workers, while the municipal level is left to fend for itself and now deals with the existence of its citizens. I hope that they, as well as the members of the political party, will recognize this uniqueness and accordingly support the local authorities to work in their interest.
In addition to the city of Bijeljina, STBIH has signed memorandums with Goražde, Cazin, the Stari Grad Sarajevo Municipality, Novi Travnik, the Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton, etc.
What is your experience of previous meetings and cooperation with the mayor of Bijeljina?
– It is an extremely positive experience and unusually successful cooperation. The mayor and his colleagues are very committed to protecting the interests of the residents of their city. In addition to being realistic, I can say that Mr. Petrović is very concrete and constructive. A saying “Deeds, not words”, is very rare on our political scene. However, this saying is very much visible in the implementation of the memorandum that the mayor signed with STBIH.
What are your expectations in the City of Bijeljina, considering that the socio-political situation is specific and that the mayor comes from a political party, which does not have a parliamentary majority?
The mayor made the decision to ban shops from working on Sundays in one period, when it was still in the development phase. Bijeljina was the first big city to pass that Decision. Today, more than 17 municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina have these decisions.
Together with his colleagues, he carefully planned the decision and communicated with all the key actors. To be honest, he defended it very bravely, because not everyone was enthusiastic about it. In the following period, the decision will again be the target of critics, but I am convinced that Mr. Petrović will still know and be able to defend it. We will do our best to support it, because it is in the interest of our members and trade workers in general.
Bijeljina is a very important economic unit, and the economy would eventually have to become a key factor on which the extent of citizens’ trust in the government at all levels will be based.
As the saying I mentioned is “Deeds and not words”, the rule “Processes and not persons” is equally important for us. For us at STBIH, that is the only criterion for whether someone works in the interests of the workers or not, which is another thing on which we agree with the mayor, Mr. Petrović.
Are there mechanisms, which STBIH proposes to local authorities, in order to overcome evident difficulties in achieving the set goals?
– Our role in that process is not to be the policy makers, but to support those policies that prioritize the interests of trade workers, and to make sure that they are also familiar with it. We are certainly open to any type of support that we as a union can provide. Unfortunately, the strength that exists in the number of workers in this sector is still not the mechanism it could be, precisely for the reason that the freedom of association is violated to the maximum, as one of the fundamental workers’ rights. The fact that less than 10% of workers in this sector are unionized is the best indicator of this. However, with such positive examples, I hope, we contribute to the construction of that mechanism, which in my opinion is the most important. However, there are many other factors that undermine this and with which STBIH has to fight in the process of gaining the trust of the workers.
Is there support from international organizations in the implementation of STBIH goals in this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
-STBIH has been cooperating with trade unions throughout Europe since 1997. Our work is supported by the Norwegian Trade Union, the Swedish Trade Union, the Olaf Palme International Center and many others. At the beginning of November in Bijeljina, we gathered our colleagues from the Trade Union from the Western Balkan region, in order to introduce them to our cooperation with the City of Bijeljina. This event was also attended by the highest officials of the international federation UNI, which has more than 80 million members in more than 200 trade unions worldwide. As I have already said, our task as a trade union is precisely on these positive examples, such as Bijeljina, to build the belief that something is possible in BIH, which has completely justifiably “earned” a synonym of a society in which nothing works. This is the only way we can fight against the mass departure of people from the country. And indeed, when there’s a will, there’s a way.
Proof that a saying “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” really applies, our second interviewee, Councilor to the Mayor of the City of Bijeljina, Radoslav Ostojić, confirmed in his interview for the Local Works.
Mr. Ostojić, in April, you passed a Decision on banning work in shops on Sundays, a decision unpopular for employers. What do you think are the effects of this decision, and does it meet with the support and understanding of employers?
– The effects of this decision are more than satisfactory as far as the workers are concerned. We have received many positive comments from workers and union representatives, among which is the direct support of the Trade, Tourism, Hospitality and Service Union of the Republika Srpska, as well as the competent Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As for the employers, there were some complaints. They believed that the said decision should not be made, and that the negative consequences will be reflected in employment in the field of trade. All the analyses, which we did after the decision was made, show that there was no reduction in the number of jobs, nor a decrease in turnover in this area. When implementing this decision, which was adopted in November 2021, we were guided, among other things, by statistical analyzes conducted in several European countries. They say that traffic in stores is the lowest on Sundays, despite the practice of the analyzed countries that stores are open on Sundays. It was shown that the largest part of traffic is carried out on Saturdays, and that the establishment of a non-working Sundays would not affect the overall traffic in the area of trade. On the other hand, the free Sunday represents an important social and civilizational issue, in which a person, i.e. the worker should represent the subject of work, not an object for profit.
The position of workers in the post-war period is not in the focus of politics. You are the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to deal with the issue of workers’ rights at the municipal level. Is this part of your program to stop depopulation in this area, and how much do other political factors in Bijeljina, in this case the Parliamentary majority, participate in it?
– Yes, it is one of the priorities of our administration, and we consider this issue one of the most important issues in our society. For us, opening this topic through a non-working Sundays is only the beginning of the discussion about the implementation of workers’ rights in the Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Will your cooperation with trade union organizations be part of the program policy in the future in order to articulate their demands to the institutions of the political system?
– Yes, of course, the City of Bijeljina is open for cooperation with everyone who expresses the desire to implement activities that can contribute to a better environment in our society. We are ready to cooperate in the future, both with Trade Unions and with other organizations in various spheres of social activity.
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We hope that this story will be just one in a series, and that in the coming period we will continue to record success in the fight for the economic and social rights of workers. For that struggle, strength is needed, which, practice shows, we should look for in the LOCAL COMMUNITY.
