ON THE VERGE OF A GENERAL STRIKE

RS: Season of Workers's Discontent

"We practically are in general strike. Only thanks to the fact that the workers manifested, and still do, a high level of understanding and tolerance for the current political situation, the strike did not actually begin", says Cedo Volas, M.S. and President of the Alliance of Trade Unions of the Republika Srpska

AIM Banja Luka, July 19, 1996

Neither the minimum nor the maximum of Serb national interests are edible. That is how the idyllic relationship between the authorities and the people was interrupted by unpleasant growling of stomachs with hunger.

Figures best illustrate the state of the economy and its reflexes on total social relations in Republika Srpska (RS) at this moment. Statistics of the Trade Union show that RS has 350 thousand working age citizens. Out of that number, 200 thousand are registered as employed, but only 50 thousand of them are employed in producing industries, whose capacities are exploited only with 15 to 18 per cent. Less than a half earn the national income, while the rest come to work and do nothing, enabling in this way the state to prevent escalation of growing social revolt.

"Watched from the aspect of fulfillment of obligations by the employers to employees, with the exception of a small number of enterprises and institutions, we are in general strike", these are the words of the President of the Alliance of Trade Unions, Ceda Volas. "Only thanks to the fact that the workers have manifested, and still do, a high level of understanding and tolerance for the current situation, the strike has not actually started", says Volas.

Warnings of the Trade Union linked to this fact addressed to the Government and the Assembly of the RS, and recommendations to abandon hasty decisions in adopting the Law on privatization, amendments of the Law on enterprises, Law on Labour Relations, were not accepted.

In the beginning of July, 25 employees of Serb Radio in Banja Luka went on strike; on July 8, workers of Banja Luka paper industries "Incel" also went on strike; about ten days later, strike of workers of furniture factory "Vrbas" began... The reason is discontent of the workers with their material situation and imposing of personnel changes.

Workers of "Incel" did not get paid for four months, and contributions for health and retirement insurance funds for them are not paid either. In this, until 1992 one of the biggest enterprises in B&H, nowadays, a thousand workers who are actually working are expected to provide salaries for 3800 employees and supply of raw materials and intermediate goods. The biggest debtor of "Incel" is the Government of the RS, which owes for unpaid specific-purpose war production, unpaid clothing and shoes for workers-warriors, arrears for generated electric power which supplemented the electric power system of the RS.

President of the Municipal Board of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) Borivoje Sendic, in an attempt to pacify the workers, assumed the obligation to pay all these debts, but as the President of the Trade Union was able to find out, the Ministry of labour marked this declaration as an "unfounded promise".

The workers are not willing to speak in public. Nevertheless, they are still in a more favourable position than their colleagues who have nothing to hope for after six-months' period of so-called "waiting" for work, i.e. a form of forced paid leave, but the Employment Office with the other unemployed persons. Predrag Gajic, operater in "Incel"'s computer centre, after five years spent waging war, goes to work and that is all he does. He supports the strike, but does not believe that the current authorities are willing to resolve any of these problems.

Along with the problems of social nature, problems in successful entreprises are also piling up if their directors are not members of the SDS. The Government of the RS replaces these directors with men from the ruling SDS. For instance, after recent dismissal of Director Dragoljub Trivanovic, workers of "Kozara" transportation enterprise from Bosanski Novi (now called Novi Grad) demanded protection from the Supreme Court of the RS. Their attempt to effectuate the valid decision of the court ended with taking the workers to the Public Security Station for questioning, and then charges were brought against them. President of the municipal Trade Union, Ms. Zdravka Rnjajic fared the worst in the whole affair, because she was physically attcked and beaten up by a member of the Main Board of the SDS of Novi Grad, Mile Grbic, because she was engaged in the "Kozara" case.

These events were the immediate cause for the Trade Union of RS to inform the public at a press conference in Banja Luka about the position of the workers, stressing that the strike has no political but solely a social background.

The official authorities publicized their opinion on strikes via Serb Radio-Television in a commentary in the program called "News at 8" on July 17, accusing workers and the Trade Union for destroying the political system of the RS. On reactions of the authorities, Mr Volas stated as follows: "We listened to the commentary with disgust, because it is an unfair way of keeping the workers silent. Strikes are an expression of poverty, a protest against misery and hard life, and the workers are only claiming their established rights". To a question what he thinks about strikes in the RS, Vice-President of the Serb Party of Krajina (SSK), Aleksandar Ilickovic says that he is not surprised with the appearance of strikes, because the SDS has completely given up resolution of social problems and concentrated solely on the elelctions. "It is a question of minutes when all the workers will go on strike", Ilickovic adds. President of the Associated Left of RS, Mile Ivosevic, supports the demands of the workers and expresses surprise that in the country of extreme poverty on one and fabulously rich individuals on the other side there are no even violent social revolts.

Representatives of the trade union believe that if the parties with strong social and economic programs win in the elections, preconditions will be created for revival of the economy and improvement of living conditions. He expects nothing from the SDS which constructs its platform solely on national, and not on economic foundations.

"Strengthening of economic links with the FRY and the world is necessary, but it is also necessary to implement provisions of the Peace agreement in order to find a way out of the present situation. A certain number of politicians still believe that we can avoid the Dayton accords. Political borders separate what economically simply cannot be separated: power production, telecommunications, railway, forests, rivers... Economic relations are not a question of liking and disliking, will and love. There is no emotions in them, and if economic interests exist, connections between the economies will be established and political barriers will fall. If implementation of Dayton accords is accelerated in the sphere of economic relations, production in industrial capacities will soon begin again and the standard of living of the workers will improve", Cedo Volas says.

Gordana Katana