The acting Minister of Finance, Labor and Transfers, Hekuran Murati, held a consultative meeting today with the chambers of commerce and representatives of private sector labor unions as part of the social dialogue on the issue of increasing the minimum wage.

Murati wrote on Facebook that during this meeting, he heard proposals and suggestions from union representatives who supported raising the minimum wage, as well as recommendations from business representatives, who emphasized the need for more consultations and a gradual minimum wage adjustment.

“The minimum wage is an important instrument aimed at protecting workers from unfair practices, but at the same time, its increase must take into account market conditions and the absorptive capacity of businesses,” Murati stated.

He recalled that the current government raised the minimum wage for the first time after more than a decade of stagnation and that it will be reviewed annually, in line with previous commitments.

“After the meeting, I left better informed, and I will take into account all suggestions and recommendations when proposing the new minimum wage for approval by the Government,” Murati said, thanking the participants for their contribution to the process.

Currently, the minimum wage in Kosovo stands at 350 euros gross. This increase was made in August of last year, shortly after the Law on Minimum Wage came into force, which initially set the minimum wage at 264 euros gross. Before the new law, the minimum wage in Kosovo was 130 euros for workers under 35 and 170 euros for those up to 65 years old.

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