Lawmakers with 90 votes in favour, none against and no abstention adopted on Wednesday the changes to the Law on Minimum Wage which enables its increase to Mden 18,000 (EUR 292), news agency MIA informs.
According to the lawmakers from the ruling majority, minimum wage increase will improve the living standard of about 80,000 workers who receive the minimum wage, and it is good that the methodology for the annual adjustment has changed and that the minimum wage cannot be below 57 percent of the average wage.
In addition, opposition lawmakers expressed regret that their amendment to gradually increase all other wages was not accepted because inflation affects the living standards of all workers.
According to them, if only the minimum wage is increased, and not the other wages, then there will be an equalization.
The draft amendments to the Law on Minimum Wage were submitted to the Parliament after several days of negotiations at the Economic and Social Council on February 7, an agreement was reached to increase the minimum wage to Mden 18,000 as of April.
The increase of the minimum wage will be supported by the state, which will subsidize the part of the contributions and for this EUR 16 million will be allocated from the budget by the end of the year.
