Right to collective bargaining
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a restructuring plan for seven coal mines owned by the state-owned Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) power company, employing about 7,000 workers, was agreed between EPBiH and the unions in May 2021.
On 22 November 2021, however, the EPBiH imposed new working regulations that violated the collective bargaining agreement, slashing the miners' basic wage to 570 Bosnian marka (US$328) from 850 marka (US$489).
Thousands of miners halted work on 23 November and protested outside the seat of government in Sarajevo. They called for the minimum wage to be set at 1,000 Bosnian marka (US$575) while also demanding the payment of pension insurance, the resignation of the mines’ CEOs and the resignation of the head of EPBiH. Protests continued for a week until the government stepped in to mediate.