Negotiations on minimum wage for 2026 to begin on August 18

Negotiations between representative trade unions, the Serbian Government and the Association of Employers on the minimum wage for 2026 will begin on August 18. The United Branch Trade Union (UGS) “Nezavisnost” and the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS) are conducting a survey on how much employees in Serbia earn and spend, and it will be completed just before the start of negotiations.

Among the questions in the survey are, as the union “Nezavisnost” announced, how employees assess the real scope and value of the consumer basket that is currently used to calculate the minimum wage. Advisor for economic issues at the UGS “Nezavisnost” Zoran Ristic told Beta that the primary goal of the survey was to determine the needs of citizens and compare them with statistical data on the minimum and average consumer basket.

– Based on this, we will formulate clearer requirements for the consumer basket and we will demand that one basket be defined instead of two - minimum and average – said Ristic.

He added that this single consumer basket should satisfy the needs of citizens for a decent and dignified life. He stated that most EU countries had a single consumer basket, instead of dividing citizens based on the content of two baskets - minimum and average, and that it was logical for Serbia to have a single consumer basket if it really wanted to join the EU.

The position of both these representative unions is, as they previously emphasized, that the minimum wage should be sufficient to meet the basic needs of an employee and their family, that is, that when defining it, the movement of living costs and real inflation must be taken into account.

Although the final decision on the minimum wage in 2026 should be made by the Social and Economic Council (SEC), Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said a month ago that the minimum wage in the next year would be EUR 550. He also stated that the minimum wage would be increased by 9.4% from the current 53,500 dinars or EUR 457 from October 1, 2025, to 58,630 dinars, or EUR 500.

In the past few years, the minimum wage has been set by the Serbian Government, as stipulated in the Labor Law, because the social partners - the state, unions and employers - could not agree on the requested amount, but before that, the amount was announced by Vucic and the state only confirmed that amount.

President of the SSSS Zoran Mihajlovic said that the union would propose during the negotiations that the minimum wage next year be around EUR 600.

Unija poslodavaca Srbije Beograd

UGS Nezavisnost Beograd

Savez samostalnih sindikata Srbije Beograd

Socijalno-ekonomski savet Republike Srbije Beograd

Serbian Association of Employers

United Branch Trade Nezavisnost

Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia

Social and Economic Council

Aleksandar Vučić

Zoran Ristić