Social partners reach no agreement on minimum cost of labor

BELGRADE - Serbia's Social and Economic Council (SES) has not reached a decision on minimum wage, because the social partners failed to reach an agreement, Labor Minister Aleksandar Vulin has said.

It was agreed to continue the meeting between social partners on Sunday, as the decision on the minimum price for labor must be made prior to September 15, Vulin told reporters after the meeting of the Council.

The SES is reaching the decision by consensus and if no agreement is reached, the decision on the minimum cost of labor will, by law, be made by the Serbian government.

Vulin noted that trade unions were seeking an increase in minimum wage from the present RSD 115 to RSD 137 per hour of work, while employers wanted no change to be made to it.

Obviously, we will not be able to satisfy both sides, but we will try to get to a sustainable solution through dialogue, with experts considering economic indicators and coming out with their calculations that will serve as the basis for further talks, the labor minister said.

President of the United Branch Trade Unions "Nezavisnost" Branislav Canak told reporters that the minimum price for labor of RSD 137.9 dinars per hour was called for primarily by the cost of the minimum consumer basket.

The Union of Employers holds the position that minimum wage should not be changed because the economic conditions for that have not been met, said President of the Union Nebojsa Atanackovic, stressing that the unions had failed to take into account other factors, such as the stagnation of GDP growth and falling productivity, when they had been making the calculation.

To support the Employers' Union's stance, Atanackovic noted that prices for some primary basic...