Government extensions, GDP reacts: private sector is economy engine

Linked to this, the Kosovar Alliance of Business has expressed its concern over the inequitable approach to workers in Kosovo, where it has said there is a marked distinction between the public sector and the private sector.

According to the UN, the Government of Kosovo cannot build stable social and economic policies, favouring only part of the workers, while leaving aside the sector that carries the main burden of economic development and the filling of the state budget.

According to available data, Kosovo has about 320,330 thousand workers in the private sector, while the public sector has about 90 thousand employees. The private sector remains the biggest employer and key contributor to the creation of budget revenues through taxes, VAT, pension contributions, production, trade and services. If a 13th salary or an average reward of around 780 euros for about 90 thousand public sector employees is estimated to be around 70m euros. Meanwhile, a support of only 100 euros for about 330,000 private sector workers would cost around 33m euros, or approximately half the cost of such a measure to the public sector”, the GDP said in response.

The KB has raised the public question how can only one category of workers be rewarded from the state budget, when the budget is largely filled by private sector work, production and economic activity?

The private sector worker is not a citizen of the second order. He is as taxpayer, voter and consumer as the public sector worker. He pays T SINCE any product you buy contributes to the pension funds, maintains the family, creates economic circulation, and participates in the development of the country. Therefore, creating different standards for Kosovo citizens and workers risks creating economic and social inequality. The GDP is not against supporting the public sector, but is against approaches that create privileges for one sector and put out the other”, it says in response.

The GDP has called for more balanced treatment between the public and private sector, direct support for private sector workers, policies that strengthen production, investment and jobs, as well as institutional dialogue with the business community before any decision of great economic impact.

“There can be no strong state with the weakened private sector. The private sector is not only the source of taxes '%s' it is the engine of Kosovo's economy that Agim Sahini finally said the head of the Kosovo Business Alliance”, said in response