15.12.2021

THE MINIMUM WAGE IN THE BALKANS

With a minimum wage of 332 euros in 2021, Bulgaria is at the bottom of the European Union. But what does the comparison with our neighbors, some of whom are not members of the Community, look like?

The undisputed leader with the highest salary in the region is Slovenia, where the minimum wage is 1,024 euros. At the other pole is Turkey, where the devaluation of the Turkish lira has reduced the minimum wage to the equivalent of 229 euros at the current exchange rate. The minimum wages in Albania are lower than in Bulgaria, where workers earn at least 244 euros, and in Montenegro, where the minimum gross wage is 331 euros, according to current Eurostat data.

The following is a more detailed reference by country on the amount of the minimum wage in the Balkans:

TURKEY is the country where the euro's minimum wage has fallen the most in recent years. In 2016, workers in the country received a minimum gross wage of 519 euros, while currently the minimum wage of 3,600 Turkish lira amounts to only 229 euros (347 euros according to Eurostat statistics for the second half of 2021). Pure Turks take between 2,826 Turkish lira (171 euros at the exchange rate per day) and 3,014 Turkish lira (182 euros), depending on their marital status, but negotiations are under way to increase the minimum net salary to 3,500-4,000 pounds next year (212-242 euros). ). Under the influence of the huge devaluation of the Turkish lira, which has lost more than 40 percent of its value since the beginning of the year, the minimum wage has changed significantly and only in the last year, measured in European currency. In January this year 3,600 Turkish lira amounted to approximately 400 euros.

Things are better in terms of purchasing power. Taking into account the difference in price levels, the minimum wage in Turkey is equivalent to 1,040 euros compared to 596 euros in Bulgaria, 587 euros in Montenegro, 422 euros in Albania, according to Eurostat data on minimum wages, expressed in purchasing power parities. .

However, the consumer basket of those working on the minimum wage has shrunk in the last year - by October the number of breads that could be bought with the minimum wage decreased to 332, ie. by 65 compared to January. For pasta, the reduction is 109 packages, for tomatoes 80 kg, for chicken 44 kg, for cheese 19 kg, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute, quoted by the opposition.

With a minimum gross salary of 331 euros, MONTENEGRO is also below Bulgaria in the ranking of Balkan countries. The country's minimum wage has not changed since 2019, but the government has said it plans to increase it next year. According to plans, the net minimum wage in 2022 should increase to 450 euros from 250 now.

In ALBANIA, the minimum gross wage is estimated at 244 euros (about 214 euros net salary). A few days ago, Albanian President Ilir Meta returned to parliament for revision of the 2022 budget, citing the fact that it does not provide additional economic assistance to more than 258,000 citizens living on $ 0.7 a day. The budget plans to increase the minimum wage in Albania to 32,000 leki (262 euros).

In the REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA, workers receive a minimum of 359 euros gross per month. The unions are demanding that the minimum wage be increased to at least 60 percent of the national average, or 18,000 denars (293 euros net), and that all other wages be raised in stages in accordance with collective agreements. The Minister of Economy, Kresnik Bekteshi, recently spoke about the increase in the minimum wage, announcing that it would increase to 18,000 denars.

The minimum wage in the country was introduced in January 2012 by VMRO-DPMNE and then amounted to 8050 denars, except for the textile and leather industry - sectors in which this amount was reached only in 2015. The last legally approved minimum wage was adopted in 2019 when it was set at 14,500 denars net, but with the updating of income with living expenses it reached 15,401 denars (250.5 euros net).

In SERBIA, where the gross wage is 366 euros, minimum wage earners receive a mere 32,000 dinars (273 euros), an amount that covers 81.5 per cent of the consumer basket. About 350,000 people earn their living on the minimum wage in Serbia, but unions say the number of people living on the country's minimum wage is probably twice as high. According to official figures, they make up about 15 percent of all workers.

Serbia's minimum net wage is expected to increase by 9.4 per cent next year to exceed 35,012 dinars (almost 300 euros). Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said that according to the "Serbia 2025" plan, the minimum wage will be equal to the price of the minimum consumer basket by the end of 2023.

Calculations by the Union of Independent Trade Unions show that with the proposed increase, a family of three will be able to spend 530 dinars a day on food (4.5 euros) a month.

In CROATIA, which plans to adopt the euro on 1 January 2023, the minimum gross wage is 567 euros. Purely Croatians received 425.5 euros in 2021, and the minimum net salary is expected to increase to 500 euros from January 1st next year.

In ROMANIA, the minimum gross wage is 2,300 lei (464 euros at the exchange rate of the day or 467 euros in Eurostat statistics for the second half of the year). Purely Romanians, who have an education and one year of work experience, receive a minimum wage of 1,413 lei for their work, ie 286 euros. That's enough to buy two hundred and eighty loaves of bread, 70 kg of pork, 706 kg of potatoes or 47 kg of cheese. If the person has no education, the net salary falls to 1386 lei (280 euros). Nearly 1.3 million people out of a total of about 5.6 million workers receive it.

Every Romanian needs 2,818 lei (569 euros) a month to live a decent life, according to trade unions and NGOs. 516 lei (104 euros) are spent on food, 206 lei (41 euros) on clothing and 230 lei (46 euros) on overheads, according to the Declick Civil Movement. The monthly expenses of a family with two children amount to 7,278 lei (1,470 euros).

Romania's working poverty is 15 per cent, while the average European working age poverty rate is around 8.2 per cent, according to Romanian government officials.

The new broad coalition government plans to increase the minimum gross wage from January 1, 2022 to 2,550 lei (515 euros). From the increase of 250 lei gross, people will actually reach 138 lei (nearly 28 euros).

In GREECE, the minimum wage was 758 euros gross in 2021. However, from January 1 next year, Greeks will receive a minimum of 663 euros net (compared to 650 now) after the entry into force of a 2 percent increase in the minimum net wage. However, given that due to the Easter and Christmas bonuses in Greece, workers receive 14 salaries per year, this makes the minimum wage actually 773 euros per month.

In addition, the lowest minimum wage rate in the country applies only to newly hired persons without length of service, while there is a table that calculates the amount according to the years the employee has worked and his marital status. As a result, the minimum wage for workers with a family and more seniority can be increased by up to 195 euros, and in the highest category - for family employees with more than 9 years of service reaches 928.20 euros. The lowest hourly rate since the beginning of the new year will be 29.62 euros.

Last year's deflation, as well as declining social security contributions, increased the purchasing power of minimum wage earners by about 250 euros a year, according to estimates by the Greek Ministry of Labor, but rising inflation threatens to reverse that situation. In November, inflation in Greece, according to Eurostat, reached 4.3 percent - well above the planned increase in the minimum wage.

Among a total of 21 EU member states with a regulated minimum wage, Greece is in the middle of the ranking in terms of its size. It ranks 11th in terms of the nominal value of the minimum wage and 13th in terms of its purchasing power.

SLOVENIA ranks first among the Balkan countries in terms of the minimum gross wage. In the country that adopted the euro in 2007, the minimum gross wage is 1,024 euros. This amount covers 120 percent of the minimum cost of living.