Slovakia isn't ready to raise the minimum wage to €496 this year as requested by trade unions, said the Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Jan Richter in the RTVS political discussion show 'O 5 minút 12' on Sunday.
The minister reacted to a plan by the Trade Unions Confederation (KOZ) which would like to see a rise in the minimum wage all the way to €496 a month, or 60 percent of the average salary. “Slovakia is far from ready to go for such an increase within this year. Provided the economic developments are positive, we'll tread that path and we'll be raising the minimum wage this year as well, but definitely not to such a level”, said the minister.
Member of the opposition party SDKU-DS Ľudovít Kaník describes the issue as, “a highly delicate matter”. According to him, the Government needs to focus on ensuring that salaries as a whole go up, which can only be accomplished by improving business conditions”. The minimum wage in Slovakia has been at €352 since January 1 of this year.
