Agreement on minimum wage is not reached
As the second session of the Socio-Economic Council (SES) did not lead to any agreement on the minimum wage for 2026, the next meeting will take place on 29 August. In case of no agreement, the Government will make the decision on the minimum wage on 11 September.
A 10.1 percent increase in the minimum wage has been proposed by the Ministry of Finance for the coming year, which would amount to 550 euros (around 64,443 dinars) per month, along with a 20.4 percent increase in the non-taxable portion of income. According to employers, the increase planned for October is sufficient for next year as well, and the raise of the minimum wage on 1 January 2026 is unnecessary.
According to the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS), they should set the minimum wage at 70,000 dinars for 2026.
A round table titled “Minimum wage and its impact on salaries in Serbia for 2026” was held on Monday, where the SSSS presented preliminary results of a survey by SSSS and UGS Nezavisnost on household income and expenditure.
At this meeting, SSSS president Zoran Mihajlović said that the consumer basket for a family of four with two employed members already exceeds 100,000 dinars. So, the current minimum wage level is insufficient for a basic standard of living.
As Zoran Ristić, advisor for economic and social affairs at UGS Nezavisnost, said after the first SES session, the minimum wage should reach around 60 percent of the average salary to meet the EU standard, what means even a higher increase than the Ministry of Finance proposed.
Consequently, a decision was made by the Socio-Economic Council on an extraordinary increase in the minimum wage from 1 October this year of 9.4 percent, from 53,592 dinars to 58,630 dinars, which in euros is an increase from 450 to 500. The growth of hourly wage will be from 308 to 337 dinars.
They have risen the minimum wage by 164 dinars per hour over the past five years. It equaled to 172.54 dinars in 2020, then it achieved 183.93 dinars in 2021, then 201.22 dinars in 2022, 230 dinars in 2023, and finally in 2024 they set the hourly minimum at 271 dinars before tax and contributions.
The lowest wage has increased by 13.7 percent and reached 308 dinars per hour since 1 January and covered the minimum consumer basket for the first time. It will stay unchanged until 1 October, when they increase the hourly wage to 337 dinars.
The Socio-Economic Council (SES), which consists of representatives of the Serbian Government, representative trade unions, and employers’ associations, determines the minimum wage. The Government of Serbia must decide on the minimum wage within 15 days, if trade unions and employers fail to reach an agreement.
Source Link