350 euros don't meet basic needs for part of citizens

So begins confession Sejdiu Salihu, who as a technical worker at a Pristina elementary school, says he pays 274 euros a month.

Of them, over 100 euros is needed for the municipal expenses of his four-member family.

We're used to removing, always... We're hoping it gets better”, he says.

In late August, the Government of Kosovo made the decision that the minimum wage in the country is 350 euros, starting on 1 October of this year.

Unchanged by 2011, its actual value is 130-170 euros.

According to government leaders, the new decision would affect some 150,000 employees, who work on wages lower than 350 euros, mainly in the private sector.

But neither that amount, according to economic experts, “does not fill the product basket for a family of three or four members”.

The criticism also has private sector unionists, who say the government has not consulted them on the minimum wage value and the decision to consider it the “electoral framework” ahead of the February 9th parliamentary elections.

Minimum Salaries in Europe

On the European continent, Kosovo has the lowest minimum wage, while Luxembourg leads the list as the state with the largest minimum wage. A state's minimum wage is determined by law and applies to most of that state's employees.

With little or no influence

Salihu says that he does not expect this minimum wage increase to increase his family's welfare.

His wife does similar jobs, but in another school, she also receives about 270 euros a month.

The growth of the minimum wage probably affects little or nothing. The expenses are huge. Children are looking... life constantly requires money”, says 53-year-old.

It shows that for municipal services, including electricity and communications, his family needs more than 100 euros a month, while for food more than 300.

If you buy flour, sugar, salt, oil, ground, potatoes, pasta, eggs, sometimes meat or sausage, so, less often without spending up to 10 euros on other cigarettes, it's impossible... When autumn comes, there are trees, pickles... ”, says Salihu.

If it wasn't for a messenger's help, it's a question”, he adds, indicating that the brother living in the West helps him for months.

Free Europe Radio has reported earlier that the minimum wage decision has established several legal dilemmas, since the Government of Kosovo, as it has been said, has not consulted representatives of workers and employers for its value, as the law requires.

Jusuf Azemi, chairman of the Independent Private Sector Union, reiterates that the minimum wage is set by the government, without consulting and informing unionists.

According to him, based on the cost of living in Kosovo, the minimum wage would have to be around 700 euros, but unionists have suggested it be at least 500 euros.

He says the 350 euro amount means a 4-member family will spend less than 12 euros a day.

This means that for each head of the family there will be 2.70 or 2,80 euros”, says Azemi ʹ this much that, according to him, does not create even minimal social base for people.

Azemi says unions have called for the increase of the minimum wage since the beginning of the current government's mandate in 2021, but emphasises that this step has been undertaken nearly at the end of the mandate, respectively, following the announcement of the upcoming election date.

“I didn't call it minimum wage, but pre-election salary, because this is a salary through which [the government] wants to get votes. Otherwise, the social status of workers does not change”, Azemi says.

Lulzim Rafuna, chairman of the Kosovo Economic Ode, which represents private businesses, says most businesses exceed the minimum wage level recently appointed by the government.

Under that minimum, according to him, there are only salaries that provide private businesses that connect with the public sector, where they provide technical services and are paid by public institutions.

If we were given the opportunity, we, like the private sector, perhaps within our means, would propose another higher level of wages. But it has been completely lacking in private sector consulting and information”, Rafuna tells Radio Free Europe.

He adds that the government's pledge -- that the minimum 350-euro salary -- will be free from the tax for personal income -- requires legal changes, which are a challenge to reach by October 1st.

The minimum wage depending on inflation

On the other hand, University of Pristina Economics Professor Majid Bektashi says the minimum wage should move depending on inflation.

Although during the past year it has been more stable, Kosovo Statistics Agency data show that consumer prices have marked an increase of 2.2 per cent compared to the same period last year in July.

“I think that the minimum wage, to ensure a dignified life, should be at least 450 euros and in the coming years become its index with an increase in inflation”, Bektash says.

According to him, 350 euros “does not fill product baskets for a family with three or four members”.

He does not expect this minimum wage value to affect rising prices in the market.

I don't believe that this rise or value that will be paid for the minimum wage increase will affect the amount of euros in circulation. After all, inflation does not originate with us from local production, but it is imported inflation of”, Bektas says.

In Kosovo, the Statistics Agency has no record of how much the consumer basket costs. But the prices of basic products have steadily increased over the past two years.

Radio Free Europe has brought several stories of citizens, which barely succeed in meeting monthly needs.

The average salary in Kosovo is about 520 euros, while the unemployment rate is about 10 percent, reports REL.