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From now on, workers in Serbia who receive the minimum wage will have two thousand more dinars in their account, because the Economic and Social Council made the decision to increase it by 6.6 percent this year. The unions are very unhappy with the decision, they say that this minimum is not yet close to the minimum consumption basket. And employers say any spike during the coronavirus epidemic and uncertainty is great. Among the divided opinions, the Serbian Government gave the last word.
At 30,000 dinars, which is the minimum wage until today, 350,000 people live in Serbia every month. It’s almost impossible to survive with that – the unions warned both the government and the employers, but their calls went unanswered.
The “fight” in the Economic-Social Council for the minimum amount was interrupted by the representatives of the Government. Decision made: minimum increases by 2,126 dinars, or 6.6 percent.
That’s below the poverty line for a family of three, where, you guessed it, one works, warns the president of the “Independence” union, Zoran Stojiljković.
“There are no more patient citizens, both employees and unions, than these in Serbia. The inequalities are greater here, poverty is widespread. At this rate, we will once again have the effect that the poorest will ‘pay’ for this crisis.” , said.
Employers say: when there is a crisis, every increase is great. They saw no room in their budgets to comply with the unions and raise the minimum to get closer to the consumer basket of 37,000 dinars.
“Two thousand dinars is a higher minimum wage, so all other wages have risen,” says Nebojsa Atanackovic from the Employers’ Union. “Because those who had 32-33 thousand until now will now go to 35,” he explains.
According to the statements of the line ministers, the state is not afraid of the crisis. There is money in the state treasury, says Finance Minister Siniša Mali, rejecting criticism from the unions. And Mali encourages employers by saying that the state will bear the brunt of the decision on the new minimum price for labor.
“Since the first of January, we are also increasing the non-taxable part of the income from 16,300 to 18,300, which is about 8 billion dinars that are taken over by the state,” says Mali.
The increase in the minimum wage corresponds to the state, which will “collect” additional income, explains for H1 the journalist of the magazine “Nova ekonomija” Ivana Pavlović.
“The Serbian government needs money, one way is to increase the minimum, there will be a little more money based on taxes and contributions. The other way is to borrow, but if you talk to the economy on the ground, this is so uncertain that few they can project their business over a longer period of six months to a year, “says Pavlović.
Despite the economic crisis, Minister Mali says he has good news for retirees, because pensions will increase by 5.9 percent from next year, according to the “Swiss formula” to be applied.
And on the day when the minimum wage is increased minimally, Mali also remembers the old promises: it reminds citizens that the average wage in Serbia will be 900 euros. But, 2025.
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