When will the Law go into effect on the minimum wage?

The minimum wage bill has passed second reading in the Kosovo Assembly evening on Thursday.

In principle, it provides for the minimum wage in Kosovo to reach the value of 264 euros gross for all employed, public and private sectors.

The minimum wage in Kosovo is currently 130 euros for workers under 35 and 170 euros for workers up to 65 years.

There are also degrees until this bill comes into force and is transformed into law.

So far, the bill has passed several important phases. It was approved first read in the Kosovo Assembly on June 14th 2022.

While, on July 13, 2023, it has also been adopted in second reading in the Assembly.

With this, this law is considered approved by the Parliament, and after being signed by the Speaker of the Assembly, it must be sent to the country's president for signing.

Kosovo's constitution gives the president the right to rationally reject and bring the law back to the Assembly.

However, to overturn the President's veto requires at least 61 MPs to vote for the adopted law, which has returned to the Assembly and the law is considered declared.

The law eventually goes into effect 15 days after publishing in the Official Journal of the Republic.

Even after entering into force, each published law can be challenged by the Constitutional Court, and if this court claims to be contrary to the country's Constitution, it could declare it invalid.

The value of minimum wage in Kosovo has not changed since 2011 and is the lowest in Europe, according to the European Statistics Agency, Eurostat.

This law also changes tax steps in personal annual revenues, as well as the minimum wage setting procedure.

This law stipulates that the minimum wage value will have zero tax.

Under the law, the Kosovo government at the end of each calendar year determines the minimum wage, according to the Economic-Social Council proposal. But, in the absence of a proposal from this Council, the Ministry of Finance can submit a proposal for the minimum wage for Government.

According to a study by the Institute for Advanced GAP Research published in April, there are more than 100,000 workers in Kosovo receiving minimum wages. Over 94 percent of them are employed in the private sector. / REL