Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Population:
Capital: Sarajevo
Capital: Sarajevo
In a country with an almost 50 per cent unemployment rate and weak law enforcement, employers’ pressure and occasional dismissals of trade unionists effectively discourage many workers from joining the union. A fragmented legislative framework and restrictive laws on trade union registration and strikes amplify the problem, including the fact that the Government continues to refuse registration to a state-level trade union confederation.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
reported violations - 2011
Background
Since 1995 the Dayton Agreement, which brought an end to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has subordinated the country’s national administration to supervision of the international community. Elections held in October 2010 did not bring much prospect of institutional reforms that would allow the country to establish full sovereignty and be considered for EU candidate status.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Sarajevo
Capital: Sarajevo
reported violations- 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Trade union rights in law
Despite recent improvements, excessive restrictions on trade union rights figure in several areas of the law. Registering a trade union is cumbersome, as the time limits prescribed in the legislation are very short and exceeding the limitations may even lead to dissolution of the organisation. Furthermore, the authorities have the right to reject a request for union registration, and a trade union can be dissolved by the authorities if it has failed to convene its assembly. The right to strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is seriously undermined by the requirement to ensure “production maintenance” during strikes. The union and the employer must agree on this at least ten days before the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is due to start, which effectively gives the employers discretionary powers to prohibit lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is seriously undermined by the requirement to ensure “production maintenance” during strikes. The union and the employer must agree on this at least ten days before the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike is due to start, which effectively gives the employers discretionary powers to prohibit lawful strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike action.
Freedom of association / Right to organize
Principles
Freedom of association :
- >The right to freedom of association is enshrined in the Constitution.
- >The right to freedom of association is recognized by law but strictly regulated.
Freedom of association is included in the Constitution and the labour law of both the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. In 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Associations and Foundations. The amendments addressed a number of ILO concerns pertaining to trade union registration, but did not resolve all pending issues.
Anti-Union discrimination:
- >The law prohibits anti-union discrimination, but does not provide adequate means of protection against it.
Financial penalties are foreseen for anti-union discrimination against individuals, but there are no legal sanctions against employers who obstruct union organising.
Restrictions
Legal barriers to the establishment of organizations:
- >Power to refuse official registration on arbitrary, unjustified or ambiguous grounds
- The time limits prescribed in the legislation for the registration of trade unions are very short. Exceeding the limitations may lead to disproportionate penalties, such as the dissolution of the organisation in question or cancellation of its registration. The Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina has the right to accept or reject trade union registration, and if no decision is made within 30 days, the registration is considered to have been tacitly denied. The 30-day deadline is rarely respected in practice.
Restrictions on trade unions' right to organize their administration:
- >Restrictions on the right to elect representatives and self-administer in full freedom
- The law regulates trade unions’ internal procedures in great detail, restricting their freedoms. Company-level trade unions of the Republika Srpska must be entered into the General Ledger of the Ministry of Labour, War Veteran and Disability Protection. The Rulebook of this General Ledger stipulates that the authorised trade union representative must provide a certificate of his or her employment in the company. Should the employer fail to produce the certificate, there are neither sanctions nor alternative ways of proving one’s employment.
- >Administrative authorities' power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations
- The Ministry of Justice or the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina can effectively dissolve a trade union. The grounds for administrative dissolution include situations where a trade union has not convened its assembly for a period exceeding what is prescribed by the union’s constitution. Trade union activities can also be prohibited by a court decision if the union’s activities are not in line with the goals in its constitution.
Categories of workers prohibited or limited in law from forming or joining a union, or from holding a union office:
- >Armed forces
Right to collective bargaining
Principles
Right to collective bargaining:
- >The right to collective bargaining is recognised by law.
Right to strike
Principles
Right to strike:
- >The right to strike is recognised by law but strictly regulated.
Restrictions
Legal barriers to lawful strike actions:
- >Other undue, unreasonable or unjustified prerequisites
- In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “production maintenance” must be ensured during a strike. How this is to be achieved must be worked out in advance with the employer and announced no later than ten days before the strike is due to start. If no agreement is reached, the strike will be declared unlawful, trade unions can be fined up to 2500 KM (EUR 1250), and workers may be sanctioned.
Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike:
- >Authorities' or employers''' power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike action
- In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, employers enjoy discretionary power to prohibit lawful strike actions as a result of the requirement that the employer and the union must agree on “production maintenance” during a strike for the strike to be legal.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Sarajevo
Capital: Sarajevo
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
In practice
Anti-union multinationals: The Confederation of Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (KSBiH) reports that multinationals, especially in the commerce sector, strongly oppose trade unions. Workers in large shopping malls are threatened with dismissal if they join a trade union. Dismissals of trade union officials and reprisals for strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. are not infrequent, and in a country where the official unemployment rate is close to 50%, such cases discourage many workers from joining a union. However, the situation did improve in Interlex, where the workers were previously threatened with a 50% wage cut if they formed a union. In October, the Trade Union of Workers in Commerce and Services of BiH (STBIH) held a trade union assembly in the company and elected five shop stewards.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. are not infrequent, and in a country where the official unemployment rate is close to 50%, such cases discourage many workers from joining a union. However, the situation did improve in Interlex, where the workers were previously threatened with a 50% wage cut if they formed a union. In October, the Trade Union of Workers in Commerce and Services of BiH (STBIH) held a trade union assembly in the company and elected five shop stewards.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Sarajevo
Capital: Sarajevo
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
Violations
Ministry of Justice deregistered trade union: The workers of Radio Herceg Bosne, in Mostar, went on strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 30 November 2009 due to unpaid salaries. The employer tried to get the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike declared illegal by appealing to court, but on 20 March 2010 the Municipal Court of Mostar decided that the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike was legal and justified. However, on 2 April the Federal Ministry of Justice took the decision to deregister the company organisation of the Independent Union independent union A trade union that is not affiliated to a national union. Can also be a union that is not dominated by an employer.
See yellow union
of Professional Journalists of BiH (NNS) and delete it from the trade union register, on the grounds that the union did not comply with its own statutes. As a consequence the workers had to terminate the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , but on 13 April they registered a new trade union organisation. The next day Mijo Kelava, leader of the both the old and the new union, and three other trade union members were dismissed without a formal explanation. The Labour inspector initiated a court procedure against the employer in May, and the County Court in Mostar decided in June to return Mijo Kelava to work until the court procedure was concluded.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 30 November 2009 due to unpaid salaries. The employer tried to get the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike declared illegal by appealing to court, but on 20 March 2010 the Municipal Court of Mostar decided that the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike was legal and justified. However, on 2 April the Federal Ministry of Justice took the decision to deregister the company organisation of the Independent Union independent union A trade union that is not affiliated to a national union. Can also be a union that is not dominated by an employer.
See yellow union
of Professional Journalists of BiH (NNS) and delete it from the trade union register, on the grounds that the union did not comply with its own statutes. As a consequence the workers had to terminate the strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike , but on 13 April they registered a new trade union organisation. The next day Mijo Kelava, leader of the both the old and the new union, and three other trade union members were dismissed without a formal explanation. The Labour inspector initiated a court procedure against the employer in May, and the County Court in Mostar decided in June to return Mijo Kelava to work until the court procedure was concluded.
Manager assumed role of shop steward and demoted unionists: The General Manager of the tobacco factory Fabrika duhana Sarajevo, Edin Mulahasanović, illicitly convened and presided a meeting of the trade union committee in September 2010, following which he assumed the rights and obligations of the company shop steward
shop steward
A union worker who represents the members of a union in dealings with the employer. Often elected by union members who work in the same establishment.
. The legally elected shop steward
shop steward
A union worker who represents the members of a union in dealings with the employer. Often elected by union members who work in the same establishment.
of the Independent Trade Union of workers in agriculture, food, tobacco, water management, commerce, catering and tourism activities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PPDIVUT), Aziz Mrdić, had been demoted from a position of jurist to that of assistant non-skilled production worker. Another member of the same trade union, Hasib Kepeš, was also demoted to the same position without regard to his poor health, which resulted in his hospitalisation due to a severe psychological condition.
Dismissed during strike: Twenty-four workers of Urbanistički zavod Republike Srpske, in Banja Luka, were dismissed in June 2010 during a legally organised general strike
strike
The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike that started 4 April. The Ministry of Labour and Veteran-Disability Protection of Republika Srpska considered the dismissals as illegal in August and ordered that the workers be allowed to return to work.
See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike that started 4 April. The Ministry of Labour and Veteran-Disability Protection of Republika Srpska considered the dismissals as illegal in August and ordered that the workers be allowed to return to work.
Trade union confederation still denied registration: Despite pressure from the ILO
International Labour Organization
A tripartite United Nations (UN) agency established in 1919 to promote working and living conditions. The main international body charged with developing and overseeing international labour standards.
See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights , the Government has since 2002 been refusing to register the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SSSBiH) under various pretexts. In 2010, SSSBiH was again denied registration, among other reasons on the grounds of its statute not being in line with the Law on Associations. The Government subsequently asked for all rules on organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. at the company level to be deleted from the statute.
See tripartism, ITUC Guide to international trade union rights , the Government has since 2002 been refusing to register the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SSSBiH) under various pretexts. In 2010, SSSBiH was again denied registration, among other reasons on the grounds of its statute not being in line with the Law on Associations. The Government subsequently asked for all rules on organising organising The process of forming or joining a trade union, or inducing other workers to form or join one. at the company level to be deleted from the statute.
Trafficking of workers: The case of 700 workers from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia, Macedonia, Moldova and Pakistan who had been recruited by SerbAz to work in Azerbaijan and who were later heavily exploited is still waiting for its court epilogue in Azerbaijan. While the police of BiH failed to find any irregularities in the work of the recruitment company SerbAz, Bosnian citizen Saša Lipovac, who was in charge of the workers’ camp site in Baku, was sentenced in January 2011 to ten years imprisonment for war crimes committed in BiH in 1993. Offers for well-paid work abroad are popular in BiH due to the harsh existential situation of the majority of the population, but there is concern that a number of the recruitment companies are using such arrangements as a cover for trafficking and exploitation of workers.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Sarajevo
Capital: Sarajevo
reported violations - 2011
Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher