Minister wants salaries and pensions cut by 10 percent

Minister wants salaries and pensions cut by 10 percent

BELGRADE -- Minister of Economy Dušan Vujović said on Monday that the Serbian government "has no dilemma that reforms are necessary."

Vujović, who took over as as acting minister of finance after Lazar Krstić resigned over the weekend, spoke for the daily Blic when he "stressed that all tiers of the society should bear the cost of reforms."

“Public sector workforce and pensioners cannot possibly be the ones carrying the largest burden,” he said.

In a statement for the public broadcaster RTS, Vujović said that his proposal, which he described as "a working hypothesis," was to cut both public sector salaries and pensions by ten percent this year.

He explained that this "hypothesis" is yet to be considered by the government, along with other measures meant to bring about economic recovery. The government will then decide if pensions will be reduced, and by how much, Vujović said.

Speaking for Blic, he noted that "the problem does not lie in the choice of measures, but rather in their severity and way in which they will be implemented."

The minister further stated that "the same objective could be achieved with a set of economic measures that the government would implement in the next three years," adding that the issue of deficit would also be tackled by resolving the problems from the past.

“By solving the status of 584 enterprises that spend budgetary funds, without making profit, we will save around EUR 600 million per year. A better administration, thanks to competent management and spending cuts in public enterprises, could bring EUR 200-300 million on an annual basis, instead of losses that are covered by...