144,000 dinars – a salary that would cover the objective costs of living in Serbia
The salary that covers the basic social and existential needs of workers and their families in Serbia amounts to 144,457 dinars, according to the latest calculations by the Center for Emancipation Policies.
In the press release of that center, it is stated that the amount of the living wage was calculated based on the data of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) network from 2021, and was increased by the average annual inflation rate of 11.9 percent in 2022 and 12.5 percent in 2023. . year.
“If we would separately calculate the growth rate of food prices, which was much higher than the average annual inflation, this amount would be even higher. The average contracted net salary in 2023 was 86,000 dinars net and covered only 60 percent of the living wage,” the announcement states.
The latest data, it is added, show that the average salary in May of this year was 100,170 dinars.
“So, the average wage still hasn’t reached the level of the living wage. What then can be said about the minimum wage, which is 47,000 dinars on average this year and only covers a third of the living wage”, asked the Center in a statement.
“Despite the fact that the living wage is recognized in many international documents, such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Social Charter, but also the fact that the Labor Law explicitly states that the minimum wage must meet the basic social and existential needs of employees and their families , male and female workers in Serbia still live in poverty”.
A living wage – a basic human right
“The calculation of the living wage starts from the objective costs of living and tells us what is the lowest amount of earnings that would enable workers and their families to have a basic decent life. It must always be sufficient to cover basic needs including food, clothing, housing, public transportation, utilities and telecommunications, education, leisure and culture, adequate health care, hygiene and vacation expenses. The living wage also includes discretionary income for unforeseen expenses in the amount of 10% of the entire salary. It is paid for work performed as part of full-time work, that is, it does not include compensation for overtime work,” the announcement reads.
It is time, they say, for the state to protect workers and significantly increase the minimum wage, and for companies, which make huge profits from their work, to take responsibility and enable their employees to step out of the poverty into which the prevailing business model constantly pushes them.
The Living Wage Declaration, signed by four trade union headquarters, more than twenty organizations and over 2,000 individuals, is available on the website platazazivot.rs.
By the way, negotiations between the Government of Serbia, employers and labor unions on the new minimum wage for 2025 should begin on August 15. President Aleksandar Vučić was the first to go public with the possible amount, saying that the minimum wage could be increased from the current 47,000 dinars to 51,000 or 52,000 dinars.
Unions say it is still far below the minimum consumer basket, let alone the average.
Source: 021
Photo: Unsplash, Freepik
Source: bizlife.rs
