Living wage and decent work
Our Living Wage and Decent Work Project is committed to advocating for fair wages and improved working conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We strive to ensure every worker earns a living wage that supports a dignified and healthy life.
About the project
Starting point
Addressing the economic disparities and inadequate labour conditions, we focused on raising awareness and driving policy changes to promote fair wages.
Support from local communities
Engaging with trade unions, workers, employers, and policymakers, we work collaboratively to advocate for living wages and decent work standards.
End result
Our project leads to improved economic stability for workers, greater social justice, and the establishment of fair labour practices across Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Declaration on the Living Wage
Given the poor social conditions of workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, characterised primarily by low wages and poor working conditions, we present the
Declaration on the Living Wage
The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina emphasises that we are a state based on the rule of law and social justice. It ensures the highest level of internationally recognised human rights and fundamental freedoms, as outlined in Article II. This includes the right to a dignified life, fair remuneration, and the right to work under conditions of freedom, equity, security, and human dignity.
For decades, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been a country where reality does not align with these constitutional provisions.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country of cheap labor, so cheap that the minimum wage, which is a reality for many workers, keeps people in a state of constant poverty. The reality of living mandates that, in determining the minimum wage, among other things, the existential and social needs of the employee and their family, expressed through the value of the minimum consumer basket, should be considered.
Living off one's labor is a civilisational standard. However, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, being employed does not mean not being poor. The economic and social status of the population has been deteriorating for decades to the point where many people, to feed their families, are forced to work one or more additional jobs without the possibility of rest on weekends or taking annual leave, further jeopardising the health and safety of workers. The situation is worsened by high food prices, increasing educational costs, and rising healthcare expenses paid out of pocket. The degradation of living standards significantly affects the ability and quality of participation in social life.
At the same time, the state, and entities within, advertises us as highly skilled yet cheap labour, selling our poverty as a comparative advantage in attracting foreign direct investment. With public funds, the private companies are heavily subsidized, using our underpaid labour to extract enormous profits far from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
To change this situation, we need wages that do more than just keep us alive; we need a living wage.
The calculation of a living wage starts from the real costs of living and covers the basic needs of workers and their families: food, clothing, housing, public transportation, utilities, telecommunications, education, healthcare, leisure, and culture, including discretionary income, i.e., the possibility of saving 10% of the wage. A living wage is paid for work done during regular working hours and does not include overtime, bonuses, or meal allowances.
The right to a living wage is recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe, and numerous other international documents ratified by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We, the signatories of this Declaration, believe that:
The decades-long economic policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina is unacceptable as it is based on increasing competitiveness and solely the interests of capital at the expense of the living standards of workers and their families.
The current minimum wage – which should be an exception but has become the rule – does not provide for the minimum existential and social needs of employees and their families.
The justified positions of trade unions, as organisations representing the interests of workers, are not sufficiently respected by the representatives of the Governments of Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the private sector within the Economic and Social Council.
Foreign companies, which hold monopolies in the global market, reap enormous profits by exploiting underpaid labour in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
Official statistical parameters, such as the minimum consumer basket, are not an adequate measure of a dignified standard of living.
Therefore, we, the signatories of this Declaration, call for:
The protection of the human right to a living wage, as workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina need wages that allow them to live with dignity.
The introduction of the living wage category as a measure of a dignified life in official statistics.
The introduction of the living wage category in the Labour Law to align the minimum wage with the real costs of living and the needs of workers.
Respect for trade union views and demands in the legislative processes concerning labour.
Public, concrete, and measurable steps by companies to ensure the payment of a living wage throughout the entire production chain, including the smallest suppliers and subcontractors, within a reasonable timeframe.
Halting the race to the bottom where our country and entities within competes with others in the region by degrading labour and social rights to attract foreign capital.
The adoption of a social pact and an economic development strategy that prioritises the dignified life of workers, ecological, and social sustainability.
We, the signatories of this Declaration, will fight with all legitimate and legal means to achieve a living wage as a fundamental social standard and an indicator of the social progress of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.
Signatories of declaration
