Salaries up from December

Problems in distributing higher wages are not predicted, even though in the current budget there is no presumption of implementing the Law on Salaries. The draft budget for next year is expected to make Kosovo's new government, which will be released as a result of the 6 October parliamentary elections.

According to legal deadlines, by December of this year, public sector workers are expected to receive increased salaries. According to this law, public sector wages have increased by 70 percent of the workers.

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Outgoing Minister of Finance in the Government of Kosovo Bedri Hamza told Radio Free Europe that despite the political situation created with elections, the Law on Salaries will be implemented in the previous period.

There is no difficulty in covering the cost because there are sufficient budgetary means for the wage category. In 2020, we are in the process of budget preparation and we will see where the value of wages will be. As for the following years, space is created as a result of economic growth to cover the cost of the wage law without any difficulties”, Hamza says.

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The number of workers receiving salaries from Kosovo's budget is about 82 thousand. The average public sector salary, according to the recent data of the Kosovo Statistics Agency, in 2018 was 573 euros.

And in the private sector, which accounts for about 250 thousand workers, 410 euros is the average salary.

Kosovo's budget for this year amounts to 2.3 billion euros. Of this amount, about 616m euros have been earmarked for the salary and wages category, but in this amount, the changes that took place following the adoption of the Law for Pays are not calculated.

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On the other hand, economic affairs experts consider that the implementation of the Law on Rewards has had to be initiated by the new fiscal year. Majid Bektashi, professor at the University of Pristina, in a proposal for Radio Free Europe, says that the budget law for this year has not seen the amount of means for salary growth.

He says that despite the need to raise wages for workers, the greater value of Kosovo's budget should focus on improvement and economic development, rather than on the salary and hire category.

“If the participation of wages and wages in Kosovo's budget is analysed, it results in a third (1/3) of the budget goes to wages, and this fails to re-determine means for other sectors, primarily in the health sector or in the economic development sector”, Bektash says.

In the first quarter of this year, the Kosovo government has spent about 500m euros. Much of the expense constitutes compensation for workers with social participation and contributions and benefits.

The salary law was rejected by several labour unions in the public sector, mainly by administration workers.

While concern about the expenditures that will take place from the beginning of the implementation of this law has been presented to the International Monetary Fund in Kosovo and the World Bank.