ZAGREB, 28 Oct 2021 - Opposition MPs said on Thursday, ahead of a debate on changes to the Minimum Wage Act, that nobody was against the minimum wage being raised but not in such a way to make employers cover the cost.
Marin Lerotić of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) said his party was against employers covering the cost of a higher minimum wage, wondering when the serious discussion would begin about tax reliefs and stimulation of industries, notably export-oriented ones.
Davor Bernardić of the Social Democrats said PM Andrej Plenković's announcement of a HRK 350 increase in the minimum wage was a show, adding that people live poorly and noting that 200,000 people have left the Slavonia region.
Peđa Grbin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) said that realistically, nobody could be against the PM's announcement but that the entire wage policy should be discussed.
Generally, wages are low, and when inflation is added to that, it is clear that not even the average wage suffices for a normal living, let alone the minimum wage, Grbin said.
Marija Selak Raspudić (Bridge) said the prime minister was "feeling generous" yet wanted somebody else to pay the bill. That is what the minimum wage bill is about, she said.
"If the prime minister really wants to be generous... he should raise the non-taxable income to HRK 5,000, as suggested by entrepreneurs," she said.
Katarina Peović of the Workers' Front said that the bill, under which the minimum wage would have to be agreed in its gross amount and employers who fail to do so would be penalized, would not bring anything good to 52,000 workers receiving the minimum wage.
The bill is unconstitutional and the amendments will only serve to improve the statistics, she said.
Hrvoje Zekanović of the Croatian Sovereignists said that employers were avoiding the government's measures, citing the example of a woman from Šibenik whose minimum wage did not increase at all after it was raised for the last two times. However, on paper her working hours were first reduced from eight to six and then to four, he said.
Employers are avoiding compliance with the government's measures by registering their workers as working six or four hours a day, so we are doing those workers a disservice instead of helping them, Zekanović said, calling the government's measures as 'cosmetic ones'.
Majda Burić of the ruling HDZ party said that the institute of minimum wage was a very sensitive one and had to be approached seriously, which, she said, the government was doing.
The gross minimum wage amounts to HRK 4,250, and the net amount is HRK 3,400, she said, adding that as of January 2022 the net amount would rise by HRK 350. Annually, that is an increase of 10.3%, the highest so far, she said.
She recalled that during the Andrej Plenković governments' terms in the past five years, the minimum wage had been raised by a gross amount of HRK 1,567 and a net amount of HRK 1,254.
During the term of the SDP-led government, it was raised by HRK 179, she said.
(€1 = HRK 7.521247)
For more, check out our politics section.
