CATUS asks for negotiations on increase of minimum wage in 2023, otherwise it will leave the negotiations

Zoran Mihajlovic, secretary of the Council of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS), said that in the following phase of the negotiations on the increase of minimum wage, CATUS will request that it be increased in the second half of this year, instead of negotiating for 2024, and if that does not happen, they will leave the meeting.

- On May 19, CATUS came to the negotiations on the increase of the minimum labor price, in order to request it for the second half of this year, and not for 2024, as the Ministry of Finance requested. And tomorrow, we will ask to discuss that increase for the second half of 2023, and if they try to push the topic to 2024, we will leave the meeting - said Mihajlovic for Beta.

He added that the talks started after the decision was made at the session of the Social and Economic Council (SEC) to start negotiations on increasing the minimal wage for the second half of this year, because it is not yet time for 2024 negotiations.

Mihajlovic said that this is the common position of both the CATUS and the union UGS "Nezavisnost".

He said that the unions are demanding that, starting July 1 this year, the minimum labor price be increased from RSD 40,000 to RSD 50,000, which is the cost of the minimal consumer basket.

- In the event that our request is not accepted and we leave the meeting, the SEC will have to meet again and announce what decision it has made regarding the start of negotiations on the minimum wage - said Mihajlovic.

The representative of the Union of Serbian Employers, Nebojsa Atanackovic, said that as a representative of businesspeople "he has to listen to both sides", i.e. those who are in favor of increasing the minimum wage, but also those who do business with difficulties and are against it, because they are all equally members of the Union.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Unija poslodavaca Srbije Beograd

Savez samostalnih sindikata Srbije

UGS Nezavisnost Beograd

Socijalno-ekonomski savet Republike Srbije Beograd

Zoran Mihajlovic

Nebojša Atanackovic

minimum wage increase

negotiations on minimum wage increase