{"id":6252,"date":"2015-07-30T10:50:45","date_gmt":"2015-07-30T10:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/?p=6252"},"modified":"2015-07-30T11:08:23","modified_gmt":"2015-07-30T11:08:23","slug":"apr2015-lhcsp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/apr2015-lhcsp\/","title":{"rendered":"APR 2015: Labour, health care and social protection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"11801972_1113326198732135_919840633_n\"Legal framework<\/strong>
\nThe social security system in BiH includes: the social insurance, the social benefits, the\u00a0family and children\u2019s protection and the veterans\u2019 protection. These rights are the exclusive\u00a0jurisdiction of the entities\/cantons and Br\u010dko District. Depending on the place of their\u00a0residence, the BiH citizens, hence, are treated differently in regards to the realizing of the right\u00a0to social protection. In the previous period no significant progress has been made regarding\u00a0the easing of the position of the poor and socially vulnerable, nor towards the equalizing of the\u00a0social rights in the entire state.<\/p>\n

The payment of benefits related to social protection is regulated differently in the entities\/cantons. E.g. the amount of financial assistance in Republika Srpska is prescribed by the RS Law\u00a0on social protection, while this is decided at the cantonal level in the Federation of BiH. For\u00a0this reason there are differences in the amounts of the financial assistance which is provided\u00a0to the system users, not only between the two entities, but also between the cantons in the\u00a0Federation of BiH.\u00a0Regarding the civilian war victims and people with disabilities not related to the armed\u00a0conflict, this problem has been solved in 2006 through the amendments to the Law on Basics of\u00a0Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children\u00a0of FBiH, which proposes a transfer of the budget for the social protection of these categories\u00a0of users from the cantonal level to the level of Federation of BiH. Still, this is not the case regarding the other categories of users of social protection.<\/p>\n

The right to health in BiH is ensured through the system of social protection and health
\ninsurance, and its realization and regulation is the responsibility of the entity and cantonal
\nlevels of government. The system of health protection is divided and fragmented, considering\u00a0that both the entity and cantonal ministries of health and the health funds act in the Federation\u00a0of BiH, Republika Srpska has a single ministry of health and a single fund of health insurance,\u00a0while Br\u010dko District has its own separate fund. Such structure creates and additional problem,\u00a0due to the lack of the harmonization of the legal provisions (in particular between the\u00a0cantons), and due to the discrimination of citizens based on the place of their residence and\u00a0the opportunity to use the services of the health protection. This raises the question about the\u00a0principle of availability of health services to all the citizens indiscriminately, considering that an\u00a0individual insured in one canton cannot exercise their rights in another canton or entity.<\/p>\n

Current situation<\/strong>
\nAfter some of the demands stated at the February 2014 protests were formally adopted by
\nthe federal and cantonal governments, in the last year nothing has been done to implement
\nthem, apart from the sporadic moves of abolishing the so-called \u201cwhite bread\u201d (the privilege\u00a0of the officials to maintain their income up to a year following their steeping down from a\u00a0function). Workers\u2019 rights are still violated to a great extent, the witness of which can be the\u00a0numerous examples of workers\u2019 protests such as the Banja Luka \u201cKosmos\u201d workers, who have\u00a0not received a salary in a year; and the disturbing protest march of the workers of the factories\u00a0in Tuzla: Aida, Konjuh, Dita and the Tuzla Steel Foundry, from Tuzla to the border with Croatia.\u00a0The Tuzla factory workers decided to do so in late 2014, when it became obvious that\u00a0the new cantonal government, formed after the February protests, would not s solve the\u00a0accumulated problems of these companies. It is clear that the problems caused by the crimes\u00a0related to privatization still are not solved, and that those responsible for the mismanagement\u00a0of contracts, drawing the capital from the privatized companies and their intentional\u00a0destruction are not prosecuted. Apart from these cases, there are increasing accounts of the\u00a0non-compliance with the workplace safety regulations, the lack of adequate equipment and\u00a0labour conditions, exposing the workers to life hazards, as was the case with the tragic death of\u00a0the miners in Raspoto\u010dje (Zenica) in September 2014 and in the surface mine Dubrave (Tuzla) in\u00a0February 2015, as well as the deadly outcomes at construction sites in the Sarajevo Canton. No\u00a0one appeared before the court for these accidents either.<\/p>\n

The effects of the catastrophic floods which hit Bosnia and\u00a0Herzegovina in May 2014 should
\nbe added to the situation we already described. Thousands of people once more faced the
\nenormous damage to their households, people lose jobs every day, and people in some areas\u00a0still lack access to the basic infrastructure. It is particularly worrisome that the effects of the\u00a0last year\u2019s floods were felt strongest by women. Women property owners and farmers suffered\u00a0the greatest losses and damages, given that about 27% of houses in the Federation of BiH\u00a0and almost 40% in Republika Srpska are registered to women, and considering the fact that\u00a0a greater number of women than men works in agriculture.39 This farms were often the only\u00a0source of income for the entire family, thus it is necessary to determine equal criteria for the\u00a0restitution if the affected households.<\/p>\n

A report on the consequences of floods has been published in Republika Srpska, but the
\nmeasures taken for the reparations of damage are far from enough. In the Federation of BiH\u00a0there are still no official documents on the consequences of the floods, or on the steps taken\u00a0in order to re-build them.\u00a0In 2014, a \u201cCompact on Growth and Jobs\u201d, which served as a basis for the Statement signed\u00a0by the members of Presidency of BiH, with the support of the political parties; and it also served\u00a0for the creation of the business atmosphere in BiH, that is, measures such as the lowering of\u00a0income tax; as well as the creation of the Reform Agenda signed by the BiH Government and\u00a0the BiH Council of Ministers (see 1.2 Parliaments and governments).<\/p>\n

In these documents, at least those available to the public, the emphasis is on creation
\nof a positive business atmosphere in BiH, that is on measures such as the lowering of the
\nincome taxation; increasing the openness and competitiveness of the labour market; reducing\u00a0the demands and time needed for starting a business; adopting the improved bankruptcy\u00a0framework for the accelerated re-structuring of the company; the creation of public and\u00a0transparent e-registers and procedures for obtaining permits, etc. On the other hand, little\u00a0or no attention has been paid to the measures for the improvement and protection of labour\u00a0rights, and on the procedures regarding the privatization crime, which is worrisome bearing in\u00a0mind the already critical state of the area.<\/p>\n

Although the acceptance of the Compact and the signing of a joint Statement on the\u00a0Accession Principles of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union has brought BiH the\u00a0chance to move from the standstill regarding the European integration; the Compact itself\u00a0and the solutions drafted in it, as well as the manner of creation and adoption of the reform\u00a0agenda, are a subject of criticism of a part of the BiH society, in particular of the worker\u2019s unions\u00a0and movements\/organizations whose main focus is on the worker\u2019s rights.
\nOne of such examples is the first item of the Compact which focuses on the lowering of
\nlabour tax burdens. The text of the Compact states that the tax burdens to the salary are high,\u00a0or that the employer, if they want to pay the salary to the potential worker, has to pay almost\u00a040 percent of the amount in different taxes and contributions which is considered to be a\u00a0significant factor creating an obstacle for employing. That is the reason why the employers\u00a0shy away from employing new workers or why they are employing unreported workers, which\u00a0contributes to the increase of the gray economy, and disables them from exercising their social\u00a0benefits and workers rights (exercising the rights to retirement and health insurance).<\/p>\n

The procedure for the amendments to the legislations which would reduce the personal\u00a0income tax and contribution rates has been started in Republika Srpska, and it is assumed\u00a0(according to the proponents of amendments to the law) that it will cause the decrease in tax\u00a0revenues by 72.3 million (assets of the Pension Fund will be decreased by 13.4 million, the Fund\u00a0for Health Insurance will be decreased by 43.3 million, the Fund for Child Protection by 4.5 million\u00a0and assets of the Employment Bureau will be decreased by 11.1 million KM).40 The idea of the\u00a0proponents is that the lost funds could be compensated by increasing the rate of value added tax\u00a0(VAT), which would require amendments to the VAT Law at the state level, for which there has not\u00a0been enough support in the previous years in the BiH Parliamentary Assembly. Apart from the\u00a0fact that the feasibility and applicability of such reforms is questionable, there is also the problem\u00a0of their effectiveness and justification. It is worrying that such reforms are announced without
\nconducting a thorough economic study and without the public debate in which the professional\u00a0community, the representatives of the workers and the civil society would be included, since the\u00a0professional opinions on the functionality of this fiscal reform are quite varied.\u00a0The lack of transparency and inclusiveness throughout the entire process makes room for\u00a0concerns regarding the direction of the reform in the area of social protection and retirement\u00a0insurance. Although it has been announced that the reform will proceed in the direction of\u00a0reducing the number of preferential pensions and the better targeting of the social assistance,\u00a0in order for it to reach those who really are in the state of need, the lack of concrete information\u00a0on the manner these issues were treated in the reform agenda and the exclusion of the public\u00a0and the interested parties from the entire process is worrying. A particular problem is the fact\u00a0that the ruling parties have a strong foothold and a large number of base voters, in particular\u00a0in the categories of privileged users of social assistance, and it is questionable whether the\u00a0reform will actually proceed towards the abolishing of privilege and enforcement of equal\u00a0rights, based on the actual needs.
\nDue to a series of factors such as the catastrophic floods, the economic crisis, the high\u00a0percentage of the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, inequality regarding the\u00a0realization of rights, and political interests, if there is a lack of serious and quality application of\u00a0adequate social and economic reforms, we can expect that the poverty and exclusion rates will\u00a0continue to rise, which could be a cause for serious shocks of the BiH society.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Harmonise the rights in the area of\u00a0social protection at all levels, and\u00a0to equalize the levels of benefits\u00a0stemming from exercising these rights;
\n\u2022 Ensure that a minimum of social\u00a0protection on the entire territory of\u00a0BiH (cantons\/entities\/Br\u010dko District)\u00a0is not below the poverty line;
\n\u2022 Adopt uniform legislations (or\u00a0harmonize the existing ones) across\u00a0the country in order to ensure health\u00a0care for all individuals regardless of\u00a0their status in terms of insurance;
\n\u2022 Adopt a uniform law concerning the\u00a0rights of patients (or harmonize the\u00a0existing ones) across the country\u00a0which would allow all the patients to\u00a0have an equal and dignified treatment\u00a0with full respect for their rights.<\/p>\n

This article is part of Alternative Progress Report 2015: political criteria<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Legal framework The social security system in BiH includes: the social insurance, the social benefits, the\u00a0family and children\u2019s protection and the veterans\u2019 protection. These rights are the exclusive\u00a0jurisdiction of the entities\/cantons and Br\u010dko District. Depending on the place of their\u00a0residence, the BiH citizens, hence, are treated differently in regards to the realizing of the right\u00a0to … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[765],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/11801972_1113326198732135_919840633_n.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6252"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6252\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eu-monitoring.ba\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}