At the session of the Social-Economic Council (SEC) the First Vice-President and Finance Minister, Siniša Mali, said that there would be an extraordinary minimum wage increase of 9.4% as of October 1, meaning that the minimum wage would be raised from 450 euros to 500 euros.
He thanked the trade unions and Serbian Employers’ Association for having accepted the Government’s initiative to implement an extraordinary minimum wage increase, which means that the President’s promise has been kept.
Then, he stressed that this year the minimum wage has been increased two times – the first increase of 13.7% happened on January 1 while the second one will be on October 1. He precisely stated that the working hour cost would go from 2.6 euros to 2.8 euros.
The topic of regular minimum wage increase of 10.1% was briefly touched upon with the note that these negotiations would start by the end of August-the beginning of September.
If the SEC members agree on the implementation of the regular increase of 10.1% as of January 1, this would be a cumulative increase of 37% in only 12 months.
Mali also talked about the increase of the untaxed part of the salary from 243 euros to 292 euros, which is how the state helps employers facilitate their business operations. He explained that this way the overall burden on salaries is reduced by 59.7% while the burden on the minimum wage stays at 55.6%, which is important because the goal is to continue the creation of new jobs.
He has reminded that the minimum wage increase affects average wage increase. In April average wage amounted to 932 euros and by the end of the year it will reach 1,000 euros.
Finally, it was concluded that by the end of 2027 the average wage was projected at 1,400 euros, which represents a huge change of our economy, wages, and the number of employees.
