Bosnian pensioners stage street protests for pension rise
Thousands of pensioners from across Bosnia’s Bosniak-Croat Federation, most of whom live on the edge of poverty, took to the streets in Sarajevo on Wednesday to protest for a rise in pensions and better social and health care.
Out of about 410,000 pensioners living in the Bosnian region, nearly two-thirds live on minimum payments of 326 Bosnian marka ($196) a month, while the average pension amounts to 370 marka compared to an average wage of 870 marka.
With five pensioners to every six employed people in the Bosnian region, the government, which has yet to come up with an overall reform plan for the pension system, is struggling to make payments on time. Some pension fund officials say the system survives on low pensions, which are the lowest in the Balkans.
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