BiH House of Peoples to consider harmonized bill on salaries and allowances in state institutions

Delegates are expected to consider the Report on Reaching an Identical Text of the Bill on Amendments to the Law on Salaries and Allowances in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, submitted by the Joint Commission for Harmonization of the Text of the proposed bill.

The House of Representatives and the House of Peoples of the state parliament had previously adopted the bill in different versions, after which the joint commission harmonized the text.

According to the proponents, the reason for adopting the law is to address the current unfavorable position of employees in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina – civil servants, employees, police and other officers, as well as professional military personnel – who have been adversely affected by the failure to adopt the budget within the constitutional and legal deadlines.

The bill stipulates that the “base salary calculation coefficient shall apply from January 1 of the current year for that year, and the competent institutions shall ensure the retroactive payment of salary differences within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of budget adoption, if the budget for the following fiscal year is not adopted by December 31 of the current year.”

An amendment adopted by the House of Peoples, which was the subject of harmonization by the joint commission, has also become an integral part of the law. The amendment prevents the salaries of elected and appointed officials from increasing in parallel with salary increases for employees in state institutions.