The start of negotiations for the minimum labor price for 2024 is scheduled for today, but the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS) insists that, due to the sudden rise in food prices and inflation, the "minimum" for the current year must be corrected before then.
The average minimum wage in 2023 was about 40.000 dinars, and the United Branch Union "Nezavisnost" and the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia announced that they will request an increase in the minimum wage for 2024 by more than 20 percent. Previously, the unions demanded that the minimum wage be increased to 1 dinars from July 50.000 of this year.
Vučić gives 400 euros
Before the start of the negotiations, it is already known that the Government's proposal will be that the minimum wage be slightly less than 47 dinars, given the recent statement by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that the minimum wage next year will be 000 euros.
SSSS Council Secretary Zoran Mihajlović told FoNet that the difference between the price of the minimum wage and the minimum consumer basket is about 20.000 dinars, that is, twice as much as when the minimum price of work was determined last year.
Considering the announcement of the President of the Republic, who acted as a spokesman for the VLD, the difference between the minimum wage and the consumer basket will be greater than 10.000 dinars in the future, despite promises that the two categories will be equalized, Mihajlović said.
He reminded that Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and Finance Minister Siniša Mali announced in 2021 that by the end of this year the minimum wage will be equal to the price of the minimum consumer basket, but that this has not happened yet.
"One could even say that the minimal consumer basket has never been further than the minimum wage," Mihajlovic pointed out.
Employers refrained
Honorary President of the Union of Employers of Serbia, Nebojsa Atanacković, says that they, as the Union of Employers, will first consider the proposal of the Government of Serbia to increase the minimum wage.
"First of all, we have to see how much the increase would be and whether it is acceptable, because we do not want, as in previous years, those increases to be at the expense of employers. If something increases in terms of wages, it automatically means an increase in costs for employers", says Atanacković in an interview with Biznis.rs.
He points out that until now they have always managed to get some form of tax relief if they do not agree with the proposal put forward by the Government.
"Mostly it was an increase in the non-taxable part of the salary or a reduction of half a percent of the amount for the payment of PIO contributions. We expect that if there is an increase and we agree with it, it will be only in case we receive certain benefits from the state", emphasizes the honorary president of the Union of Employers of Serbia.
Employees getting poorer
Mihajlović, on the other hand, emphasized that from year to year, employees are becoming poorer, regardless of the fact that salaries are increasing and that they nominally have more money, they can buy less and less with that money.
"It doesn't mean that we have more money when they are worth less and we can buy less and less for them," Mihajlovic said, adding that the vast majority of employees are in a very difficult situation, especially "when you consider the price of the average consumer basket." .
"Considering that the average consumer's basket costs around 100.000 dinars, and that the average salary received by the largest number of employees is half as much, it is clear that we cannot be satisfied with such a status and standard," said Mihajlović and added that the majority of employees live on at or below the poverty line.
He said that if this policy continues, the exodus of workers abroad will continue, which is not good for the country.
The minimum is less than the minimum consumer basket
How it transmits New economy, with the minimum net salary, which in Serbia is 40.020 dinars, the so-called minimum consumer basket can be satisfied - but from 2021. It was then necessary to allocate 39.623 dinars for it, now over 50.000.
For pensioners, the situation is even worse, because those with an average pension of 37.800 dinars could settle the minimum consumption basket from 2019, when its value was 37.085. dinars.
Those with the lowest pension in Serbia, which in 2023 was 20.631 dinars, cannot even fill the decade-old minimum consumer basket, because it was worth more than 2013 dinars in 30.000.
These are the data published by the Department for Legal, Economic and Social Affairs of the Association of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS).
The minimum consumer basket contains a Kilogram of rice; 1,4 kilograms of tomatoes; 1,5 kilograms of beans; 200 grams of lemon; a kilogram of oranges and bananas; 200 grams of milk chocolate; 100 grams of candy; 2,8 kilograms of chicken meat; 300 grams of dry pork ribs; half a kilogram of sea fish; 125 grams of sardines in oil; 2,5 kilograms of sugar; 600 grams of coffee and three liters of mineral water.
BG/Fonet/Biznis.rs/Nova Ekonomija
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