Railways of RS and Railways of FBiH require candidates to have a professional exam, which cannot be taken because these two public enterprises refuse to announce public calls for training in the field of railway traffic, which cannot be organized by anyone else. Following an anonymous complaint, Transparency International in BiH (TI BiH) filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH, which confirmed that this is discrimination and issued recommendations to the relevant ministries to amend these regulations.
After a complaint received by TI BiH regarding the job competition at the public enterprise “Railways of the Republic of Srpska” A.D. Doboj, the Center for Free Legal Aid TI BiH analyzed the competition procedure and regulations related to the complaint and found that candidates are required to have passed a professional railway exam for positions directly involved in railway traffic, which they cannot fulfill since this public enterprise does not announce public calls for this type of professional training. As this enterprise is the only one dealing with railway traffic in RS, training and qualification in this field are only possible in that enterprise. However, since it refuses to announce public calls, candidates wishing to work in the railways are placed in an impossible position – they cannot be employed without passing the exam, and they cannot pass the exam because the Railways do not announce calls for training.
TI BiH pointed out to the management of Railways RS the discriminatory treatment of candidates seeking employment in this enterprise, requesting that this practice be stopped, which the Railways RS rejected in their response, stating that “then it would be humanitarian work for other railway companies in the region” and that the Railways of the Republic of Srpska face the problem of workers leaving for European railways where the exam 646 is also required for employment.
Further analysis of competitions in this area announced by JP Railways FBiH d.o.o. Sarajevo revealed that individuals seeking employment in the railways in the territory of the Federation of BiH face the same problem. Interested candidates cannot be employed without possessing a professional exam, which they cannot obtain because the enterprise that can organize the exam – Railways FBiH d.o.o. Sarajevo – refuses to announce a public call for training.
In response to an inquiry sent by TI BiH seeking an explanation, the management of this enterprise admitted that it is “true (…) that JP ŽFBiH d.o.o. Sarajevo has never announced public competitions for professional training for independent work…”
Due to such forms of discrimination and violations of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the European Convention on Human Rights, TI BiH addressed the institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which issued a recommendation to the relevant Ministries of both entities to review the provisions of the regulations governing the method of professional training of workers and to the management of Railways of the Republic of Srpska a.d. Doboj and JP Railways FBiH d.o.o. Sarajevo to eliminate discriminatory treatment of certain categories of individuals.
The area of public administration is where corruption is most prevalent, as evidenced in the report of the Center for Legal Aid ALAC, which recorded 135 out of 317 complaints in 2023 from the area of public administration. Over the past 13 years of ALAC’s work, even 1191 citizen complaints were related to issues of discrimination and employment in the public sector and violations of regulations by public authorities, which is why such decisions by the institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights are not surprising.
Due to such and similar cases, TI BiH advocates for the improvement of employment processes in the public sector through a set of measures that include setting clearer criteria for the appointment of management, better regulation of conflicts of interest, transparency in employment, better supervision and penalties for violations, expanding the space for appeal procedures, restrictions during election periods, and strengthening human resources.
Read more about this area and the recommendations for improvement advocated by TI BIH in:
