The union stated that according to the data of the German Federal Statistical Office, the average hourly labor costs in that country are around 39.50 euros, and that in the EU countries they are on average around 30.50 euros.
“In Serbia, according to our calculations, that cost is almost five times lower and amounts to around 613 dinars,” the announcement reads.
That party stated that “the big difference clearly indicates that Serbia is at the very bottom of Europe”, and that, as they assessed, “workers are trapped in the clutches of poverty, low hourly wages and injustice”.
The components in the price of calculating the hourly rate are the gross wages of the employees, a hot meal, per diems and holiday pay, the costs of going to and from work, paid days for national holidays.
According to the Sloga trade union, this includes taxes and social contributions paid by the employer to the state, as well as his expenses for professional training and education of workers and other expenses.
“These are alarming data that emphasize the urgent need for an accelerated process of Serbia joining the EU, because increasing the hourly wage and improving working conditions are essential in order to prevent the mass departure of workers abroad,” added the union.