IMF: There is room to increase salaries and pensions

At a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Monday, 2 November 2015, representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that there was room to increase salaries and pensions and that the decision on the amount of that increase would be made in the following week.

Serbian PM Vucic met Monday with an IMF delegation for the third review of the precautionary stand-by arrangement that the Serbian government had signed with that international finance institution.

Head of the IMF delegation James Roaf said at the meeting that positive marks for Serbia for improving the ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business index were encouraging, adding that investments in the private sector were to be strengthened.

He also stressed that direct pay increases should take place in sectors where earnings were the lowest, such as education and healthcare.

On behalf of the Serbian government, Vucic thanked all members of the IMF delegation and said he expected intensive and productive talks under the third review ending November 10th.