President of the Employers’ Club “Privrednik”, Zoran Drakulic, made some interesting comments on the minimum wage negotiation process and warned about dangers we might face during the painful recovery period. He said he was aware that we are in the middle of an extremely serious crisis, exacerbating employers’ feeling of anxiety and fears of what future might bring. That is why we hear some of them claiming the introduction of a moratorium on minimum wage increase for the time being. The crisis is unprecedented and one has to be very cautious on the salary issue. Still, it is obvious that the current amount is scandalously small and far from enabling people to pay for the consumer basket. “At the moment”, said Drakulic “the most logical solution would be a moderate increase of round 20 euros per month, i.e. up to 35,000 dinars (297 euros).
President of “Privrednik” is convinced that only the end of political games with employers and their inclusion in the economic policy creation team would lead to a considerable increase of the national GDP. Asked about the announced building of a new – glamourous and costly – stadium, he said he had nothing against the idea, but suggested its realization in the future “when Serbia would become a rich country”.
Especially interesting is Drakulic’s opinion about the possible instability caused by the pandemic and lockdowns. He hopes not to see the pessimistic unions’ predictions on mass dismissals realized (they spoke about 200 to 300 hundred thousand unemployed by the end of the year), but warns about “possible social disturbances in case this happens”.
Must Read
