After the session, also attended by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, Mali expressed his belief that the minimum wage increase will be double-digit, recalling that the Ministry of Finance said yesterday, after the third round of technical talks, that it would be more than 10%.
He stated that a move must not be made where an aggressive increase in the minimum wage would lead to layoffs, that it is important that people work and that is why we are trying to establish a balance between those two factors.
The First Deputy Prime Minister reminded that in 2012 the coverage of the minimum consumer basket by the minimum wage was around 61.5%, and that today it is 89%.
According to him, it is necessary to consider the attitude of employers that by increasing the non-taxable part of income, the cost for employers is compensated, which would all be borne by the state, but on the other hand, other benefits would be fulfilled – further growth of economic activity, full employment and maintaining the competitiveness of the event.
Mali pointed out that, starting in 2018, the salary burden is constantly decreasing and that from 64% it is now below 60%, and that the goal is to keep that burden below that level.