Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The SUFBIH civil servants’ union has signed a three-year agreement with the federal government that runs to the end of 2026. The union was pleased with the outcome after three months of negotiations and said the agreement showed how social dialogue could deliver. The agreement stipulates that the lowest salary in administrative bodies is 70% of the average salary in the Federation of Bosnia & Hercegovina and severance pay for retirement is the equivalent of five average salaries for civil servants. There are improvements to various allowances and supplements, including for on-call periods, and

A national demonstration of health workers foreseen to take place in Belgrade on 23 November was cancelled as the GSZSZ Nezavisnost trade union reached agreement with the government on a number of key demands on pay. The aim is to get the ministry of health to sign a new regulation on salary coefficients that would define the common basic salary for all workers in the healthcare sector. The union argues that this would be a significant improvement on the current situation where the five basic salaries for different professions in the healthcare are not viable. The union is also calling for

On 2 November, around 4,000 health workers in the southern canton of Herzegovina-Neretva began strike action in support of a demand for a 30% salary increase over the next two years. During the strike action only urgent cases are being admitted to the facilities affected. The workers’ union blames the government for the poor state of the health sector and low salaries and is committed to striking until a comprehensive collective agreement is signed. The cantonal government appointed a negotiation team to address the workers' demands. Despite a tentative agreement to a 30% salary increase

The Nezavinost trade union confederation has called a national demonstration outside government offices in Belgrade on 10 December with a call for a 25% pay increase for all public sector workers. The key message of the demonstration is the need to properly value and recognise the work of public sector employees, to ensure their health and safety and guarantee compliance of employers with collective agreements.

The minimum wage is to be increased by 11.1% taking it to around 30 000 Serbian dinars a month (EUR 255). The unions had called for an increase of 24.5% to bring it in line with trends in the cost of living while the employers were looking at only 6%-10%. A deal couldn't be reached in tripartite dialogue and so the government acted unilaterally, while also lowering certain taxes on wages and benefits that employers have to pay. The minister of finance also announced a planned 5% increase for all public companies from 1 January 2020.