Government to vote to increase minimum wage from January 1, 2026, to EUR 551

Representatives of the Government of Serbia, representative trade unions, UGS Nezavisnost, the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia and the Association of Employers did not reach an agreement on the percentage increase in the minimum wage for 2026 at today’s session of the Social and Economic Council (SEC), so the final decision will be made by the Government, no later than September 15.

Honorary President of the Association of Employers, Nebojsa Atanackovic, told Beta that at the final session of the SEC, each of the social partners had maintained their position on the amount of the increase in the minimum wage.

The government, as he said, proposed that the minimum wage from January 1, 2026, be EUR 550, the unions requested EUR 600, and the employers assessed that it should not be higher than EUR 500.

– Most employers are in favor of increasing the minimum wage with state benefits, but one third cannot accept the increase even under such conditions – said Atanackovic.

In July this year, at the SEC session, it was agreed that the minimum wage in Serbia would be 9.4 percent higher from October and that it would increase from the current 450 euros to 500 euros, which would be valid until the end of this year.

Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali said, after the SEC session, that the minimum wage from January 1 next year would be 64,554 dinars or 551 euros.

– In December last year, the minimum wage was 400 euros, and from January 1 it will be 550 euros. Never has there been such an increase in such a short period of time – said Mali.

He added that “employers will be accommodated” and that from January 1, the non-taxable portion of earnings would be increased to 34,221 dinars, which would reduce the burden on income to 59.7%.

Mali said that in 2026, the minimum wage would fully cover the costs of the minimum consumer basket (111.5 percent), and that “there is a desire for the minimum wage to cover the average consumer basket.”

When asked whether the blockades of dissatisfied citizens have affected economic activity, Mali said that the direct consequence of the blockades was the drop in gross domestic product from the planned 4.2 percent to two percent.

– Revenue from value added tax has decreased, we will see how much at the end of the year. Due to the blockades, investors are avoiding us, and people are spending less, but there are fewer blockades, the situation is normalizing and with more work we will make up for it next year – said Mali.

Economic advisor of UGS Nezavisnost, Zoran Ristic, told Beta that the union was not surprised by the fact that no agreement was reached, because in previous years the Serbian Government had not given up on the proposals that politicians had put forward even before the start of the negotiations, which was “a picture of how the negotiations are going and the Government’s attitude towards employees and employers.”

The minimum wage has been announced by President Aleksandar Vucic for the past few years and before the start of the negotiations, and he did so again this year, when he said that the minimum wage for 2026 would be EUR 550.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja Republike Srbije

Unija poslodavaca Srbije Beograd

UGS Nezavisnost Beograd

Finance Minister

Ministry of Labor Employment Veteran and Social Policy

Association of Employers

UGS Nezavisnost

Zoran Ristić

Nebojša Atanacković

Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski

Siniša Mali

minimum wage