May day banner reads, 'Death to capitalism, freedom to the people'. Author's pic.On May 1, around a hundred workers gathered in the north-eastern city of Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, to celebrate labour day and protest the extremely precarious conditions they have been enduring in post-war Bosnia.
Once a regional industrial hub and important centre for the country’s economic development, in recent years Tuzla has experienced a dramatic economic decay, which has translated into an average unemployment rate of 55%.
Tuzla holds a record of strong civic activism and opposition to nationalist political forces throughout the most critical years of the 1990s. As many argue, this was, in part due to its strong and cohesive labour movement. Fast forward to today and the consequences of labour fragmentation on the country’s anti-nationalist ‘red city’ paint a stark picture.
