Continuation of the joint struggle against the gray economy in the Republic of Srpska and the protection of workers’ rights should be a priority in the coming period, with the aim of further strengthening of the Republic of Srpska and a better social position of its citizens.
It is concluded after the meeting that has been held today in Banja Luka among representatives of the Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska, the Inspectorate of the Republic of Srpska and the Trade Union of the Republic of Srpska, that there is readiness of inspection bodies in the Republic of Srpska to consistently implement all those legal regulations that have been agreed among social partners (the Government, the Union and employers in the Republic of Srpska).
At the meeting they also discussed about the control of calculation and payment of gross salaries, the prevention of the misuse of the institute of the lowest salary by a number of unscrupulous employers, as well as on the ways to fight against the grey economy and the possibilities that these three institutions can jointly improve the existing situation.
Goran Maricic, the director of the Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska, emphasized that the Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska, in accordance with its competence, will proceed its continuous controls in the following period, jointly with other inspection bodies with the aim of detection of undeclared work and all with the aim of combating the grey economy in the Republic of Srpska. He underlined that this institution, as a control body, will consistently proceed in the following period all legal regulations agreed among social partners in the Republic of Srpska. Maricic emphasized that the Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska directed a great part of its activities to combating the grey economy, but he added that the fight against the grey economy is not only based on prohibitions and inspection controls but implies different activities of wide social community. Moreover, he expressed the expectation that the citizens, workers and other are going to help inspection bodies to detect undeclared work in a way to report all irregularities they see or they have been exposed.
Zoran Mikanovic, Chief Republic Labor Inspector, emphasized that the labor inspection’s consistent application of the Labor Law greatly complicates the absence of collective agreements because many norms of laws suggest the collective agreements, especially in the part of the salary control. The collective agreement would precisely determine criteria for salary calculation, coefficient base amount, pay rates, and similar that greatly would prevent misuse of the institute lowest salary and the inspectors would be given instruments and tools, which will provide more efficient work.
Ranka Misic, president of the Trade Union of the Republic of Srpska, said that the existing situation should be changed, and the fight against the grey economy has to be stronger, so in that way she expects the support of inspection bodies in the Republic of Srpska. She specified that the Trade Union of the Republic of Srpska will insist on changes of the legal regulations and ratification of collective agreements in order to prevent misuses of the institute lowest salary by the certain number of unconscious employers but also to make it easier to discover the payment of salaries in the hands.
Otherwise, in order to fight against the grey economy and unfair competition, Inspectorate of the Republic of Srpska and the Tax Administration of the Republic of Srpska daily conduct joint activities and in the following period joint controls of unregistered economic entities are planned with the aim of its introduction into legal flows.
