Income distribution

The statutory minimum wage in Slovenia this year has been set at €878 net a month, €100 more than the year before in the most substantial rise in a decade. There are concerns the hike will increase pressure for other wages to be raised as well and thus fuel inflation further.

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Tuesday announced that he intends to table an amendment in Parliament in the coming days on the timetable of the deliberations with the social partners and experts regarding the minimum wage.

The government is examining the prospect of raising the minimum monthly wage to 780 euros from the current €713 level to offset rising inflation. The decision is expected to be made within the first fortnight of March, at the height of the pre-election period.

An increase of between 5.5% and 9.5% is expected to be given to the minimum wage on April 1st after the completion of the prescribed procedure for determining the amount of the wages.

According to information, the new minimum wage will be over 751 euros (an increase of 5.5%), while in the most optimistic scenario it will reach close to 780 euros (an increase of 9.5%).

The union is demanding wage increases and staff hiring

The minimum wage in Türkiye has been increased by 30 percent in a midyear adjustment to a net of 5,500 Turkish Liras (around $300), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on July 1.

The increase came on top of the 50 percent hike in January, which brought the minimum wage to a net of 4,250 liras.

Against the background of inflation affecting European countries, minimum wage workers in 15 out of 21 Member States with statutory minimum wages registered a decline in their wages in real terms between 1 January 2021 and 1 January 2022. This was despite comparatively large increases in nominal rates in the EU during the period.

As of Sunday, May 1, the minimum wage increased by 7.5 pct, on top of the 2 pct increase introduced in January 2022, rising to 713 euros per month from 663 euros previously. The corresponding minimum daily wage will increase to 31.85 euros from 29.62 euros.

Moving in the right direction is the increase of the minimum wage, as it strengthens the income of the low paid and at the same time can "breathe life" in to the market, as noted in a statement by the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Giannis Chatzitheodosiou.

The Minister of Labor, Kostis Hatzidakis, spoke on the "Koinonia Ora MEGA" television show about the increase of the minimum wage.