Primary and secondary school teachers in the Republika Srpska (RS), the Bosnian Serb entity, went on strike on Monday, local Nezavisna TV reported.
Teachers' union president Ranka Misic said the reason for the action was that the RS government had not met their requests for regular wages and better working conditions despite several rounds of negotiations.
However, RS education minister Nenad Suzic condemned what he called a "pre-election strike", in reference to November 11 general elections.
The education minister said in a statement that the education situation had improved this month, but that the union had been waiting "for the appropriate moment before the elections" to strike.
The union's leadership "was elected during the war and is loyal to one party", Suzic added without naming the party.
The nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) was the ruling party during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia -- BANJA LUKA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
