Social and Economic Council

Ljubljana – Labour Minister Janez Cigler Kralj said on Thursday that helping employers cover part of the minimum wage raise would cost the state some EUR 47 million.

The proposal to that effect will be included in the eighth economic stimulus bill, which could be in parliament in the middle of next week, he told the press.

The Serbian government's Social and Economic Council, unions and the Serbian Association of Employers, have launched negotiations over the minimum wage for 2018. Labour leaders face an uphill battle, EURACTIV.rs reports.

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic attended Tuesday's session of the Social and Economic Council, the Serbian government announced on its website.

The meeting discussed the Draft Law on Salaries of Public Servants and Employees in the Autonomous Province and Local Government Units, regulating the level of salaries and other earnings of employees in these bodies.

BELGRADE - The unemployment rate in Serbia is down to 16.8 percent and is four percent lower than in March 2014, Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment and Veteran and Social Affairs Aleksandar Vulin said on Tuesday.

Presenting a report on the ministry's work over the past year, Vulin said that this was a result of active employment policy measures.

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.

BELGRADE - Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin has said that changes to the labor law, which the parliament passed on Friday, will help the labor market develop, workers keep their jobs, employers improve their business and make profit.

BELGRADE - The Executive Committee of the United Branch Unions “Independence” (UGS Nezavisnost) decided on Monday that its representatives will withdraw from the Social and Economic Council, saying that they refuse to take part in “the calculated, systemic suppression of social dialogue”.

BELGRADE - The Serbian Chamber of Commerce expressed on Monday the support for the government's amendments to the labor law, describing them as a significant step forward in establishing the regulatory framework in the field of industrial relations that corresponds to the prevailing business conditions.

BELGRADE - The decision on amendments to the labour law will have to be taken by the government and the parliament because trade unions and employers are on opposite positions, Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Aleksandar Vulin said on Monday.

PM comments on South Stream, Labor Law

BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vučić has said that when it comes to South Stream "for Serbia, everything is proceeding as planned."

"Any possible decision to the contrary will be made only by the government," the prime minister told a news conference on Monday, held ahead of his trip to Germany later this week.