State proposes that minimum wage in 2026 be EUR 550, and non-taxable salary part RSD 34,221

The Ministry of Finance proposed today, at the negotiations in the Social and Economic Council (SECS) on the minimum wage for 2026, that it be EUR 550, Zoran Ristic, the economic advisor of the Association of Branch Trade Unions (UGS) Nezavisnost, told Beta after the meeting.

He stated that representatives of the Ministry of Finance said that this would be an increase in the minimum wage by 10.1%, and that the non-taxable part of the salary would increase by 20%, to 34,221 dinars.

– The representative unions will present their proposals at the next meeting on August 26 – said Ristic.

He said earlier today that UGS Nezavisnost would seek an increase in the minimum wage to 600 euros, or about 70,000 dinars.

He stated that the unions had pointed out the need to discuss salaries, especially in the public sector, because in practice it had been shown that increasing the minimum wage reduced the distance of that wage from other wages, leading to equalization.

He added that UGS Nezavisnost believed that it was necessary to get closer to the goal of the minimum wage being 60% of the average wage, which is the EU standard, which would mean that the minimum wage should be increased to the proposed EUR 600.

Ristic said that representatives of the Association of Serbian Employers would present their position on the minimum wage at the next SEC meeting, on August 26, but that they believed that the increase planned for October 1 was sufficient for 2026 as well.

Currently, the minimum wage is 53,592 dinars (EUR 457), and as of October 1, it should, as previously announced, be increased by 9.4%, to EUR 500 or 58,630 dinars.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic recently said that the minimum wage would be EUR 550 or 64,460 dinars as of January 1, 2026.

The minimum wage is determined by negotiations between the Serbian Government, representative unions and employers, and in case no agreement is reached, the minimum wage, according to the Labor Law, is determined by the state.

For the past few years, the minimum wage has been exactly as Vucic announced each time in advance.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Socijalno-ekonomski savet Republike Srbije Beograd

UGS Nezavisnost Beograd

Unija poslodavaca Srbije Beograd

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

Ministry of Finance

Social and Economic Council

SEC

Association of Branch Trade Unions Nezavisnost

UGS Nezavisnost

Assocaition of Serbia Employers

Serbian President

Aleksandar Vučić

Zoran Ristić

minimum wage

minimum wage increase