Social partners agree on social contract

Serbia's Social and Economic Council agreed on Thursday on the content of the social contract and measures for overcoming the crisis by the end of the year. The document will "will probably be signed next week, said reports. Social partners agree on social contract An integral part of the agreement is the new minimum wage per one hour, which will be RSD 102 as of June 1, seven dinars more than previously, and the government pledged that it would draft the proposal to increase the amount of non-taxable income by the end of June, the officials told a news conference in the Serbian government. Serbian Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajic said that the agreement defined the measures that should boost the economic growth, as well as protect the most vulnerable categories of people. "This proves that agreements and compromises can be reached in Serbia, and everyone included had to give up on some of their maximalistic demands so that a different economic environment could be created," Ljajic said. He said that the measures which were part of the document were not a "final list" and that other measures would also be discussed with the social partners and within the government itself, especially when it comes to the incentives for the economy, creation of new jobs and continuation of tax reforms. The agreement envisages the adoption of measures to encourage production by investing RSD 35.4 billion in priority sectors and approval of over an RSD 17.7bn loan from the Development Fund, as well as allocation of RSD 4.6 billion as incentives to foreign and domestic employers for job creation, said Ljajic. President of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia Ljubisav Orbovic said that it had taken the Social and Economic Council a long time to prepare the document that had been accepted Thursday, expressing his hope that it would be signed next week. President of the Union of Employers of Serbia Nebojsa Atanackovic said that the content of the harmonized social agreement was less than what the people had wanted it to be, but that it would still be to the benefit of everyone. The Social and Economic Council consists of two unions, namely, the Federation of Autonomous Unions of Serbia (SSSS) and the Branch Union Confederation Independence (UGS Nezavisnost), the Union of Employers of Serbia and a body of representatives of the Serbian government.

Social partners agree on social contract

An integral part of the agreement is the new minimum wage per one hour, which will be RSD 102 as of June 1, seven dinars more than previously, and the government pledged that it would draft the proposal to increase the amount of non-taxable income by the end of June, the officials told a news conference in the Serbian government.

Serbian Minister of Labor and Social Policy Rasim Ljajić said that the agreement defined the measures that should boost the economic growth, as well as protect the most vulnerable categories of people.

"This proves that agreements and compromises can be reached in Serbia, and everyone included had to give up on some of their maximalistic demands so that a different economic environment could be created," Ljajić said.

He said that the measures which were part of the document were not a "final list" and that other measures would also be discussed with the social partners and within the government itself, especially when it comes to the incentives for the economy, creation of new jobs and continuation of tax reforms.

The agreement envisages the adoption of measures to encourage production by investing RSD 35.4 billion in priority sectors and approval of over an RSD 17.7bn loan from the Development Fund, as well as allocation of RSD 4.6 billion as incentives to foreign and domestic employers for job creation, said Ljajić.

President of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia Ljubisav Orbović said that it had taken the Social and Economic Council a long time to prepare the document that had been accepted Thursday, expressing his hope that it would be signed next week.

President of the Union of Employers of Serbia Nebojsa Atanacković said that the content of the harmonized social agreement was less than what the people had wanted it to be, but that it would still be to the benefit of everyone.

The Social and Economic Council consists of two unions, namely, the Federation of Autonomous Unions of Serbia (SSSS) and the Branch Union Confederation Independence (UGS Nezavisnost), the Union of Employers of Serbia and a body of representatives of the Serbian government.