The head of the Union of Private Sector Workers, Jusuf Azemi, said that in the Ministry of Finance’s meeting on the issue of increasing the minimum wage, he will propose that the minimum wage be set at 600 euros.

Before the start of the meeting, which is closed to the media, Azemi said that as a union, they would also value a minimum wage of 500 euros.

He added that if private companies do not agree with this amount, there could be a strike.

“We only know that the discussion will be about the minimum wage. Whether the main stakeholders who should give their opinion will be present or not, I don’t know. The union’s position, which both the Prime Minister and the acting Minister of Finance have had on the table since March this year, is that the minimum wage for private sector workers should be 600 euros. The government may decide on a wage of 500 euros, and we appreciate this move as well, but we leave the doors open because, naturally, for all those companies that do not accept this wage, we have the right to strike, since the public has been informed in time,” said Azemi.

The acting Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, has invited representatives of the business community to a meeting today to discuss the issue of increasing the minimum wage.

The meeting is scheduled to take place today at 10:00 at the Government Building of Kosovo.

The senior researcher at the Kosovo Law Institute (IKD), Naim Jakaj, emphasized that the process of setting the minimum wage in Kosovo can only begin after the Economic and Social Council (ESC) has been constituted and there is a functional Government, in accordance with the procedures defined by law. According to him, any consultation or decision outside this procedure will not have legal power, sources from relevant institutions have confirmed.

Currently, the minimum wage in Kosovo is 350 euros gross. This increase was made in August of last year, a few days after the Law on Minimum Wage came into effect, which foresaw an increase to 264 euros gross. Before the new law came into force, the minimum wage in Kosovo was 130 euros for workers under 35 years old and 170 euros for those up to 65 years old.

Meanwhile, on October 26, the acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti, during the extraordinary session where the formation of the new government failed, also mentioned the increase of the minimum wage to 500 euros.