FBIH GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES NEARLY 5 MILLION KM FOR LINKING WORK EXPERIENCE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES AND 2.2 MILLION KM FOR PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES

SARAJEVO, AUGUST 27 (ONASA) – At the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry, yesterday the FBIH Government adopted a decision on allocating 2.5 million KM for linking the length of service to workers in public enterprises and 2.2 million KM to workers in private companies.
The available funds are grant funds from the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry and will be allocated according to the Government Program and the announced Public Call for settlement of the company’s debt for unpaid contributions only on the basis of PIO/MIO and that for workers who meet the conditions for exercising the right to retirement.
“For this year, we managed to set aside money so that the workers could go to a well-deserved pension, which was denied to them because their employers did not pay contributions for them. We will not allow workers to be denied their rights, especially the right to a pension that they have earned through many years of hard work. In order to solve this problem, the Government is introducing gradual measures. One of them is the allocation of funds for binding seniority through the adoption of a program and the publication of a Public Call”, said Minister Vedran Lakić.
This long-standing problem is one of many that we have inherited, and with which we have to fight. Non-payment of contributions to workers has long been a practice in both the public and private sectors.
This complicates the process of collecting contributions for pension and disability insurance, which also suspends workers’ rights from mandatory health insurance.
This is especially problematic when companies end up in bankruptcy or liquidation, because this has a negative impact on workers, who cannot build up their seniority and thus not even retire.
It is estimated that this problem affects several tens of thousands of workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (end)