December 28 (SeeNews) - Bosnia's Serb Republic government said it has decided to increase the minimum monthly wage to 450 marka ($262.8/230.0 euro) from 440 marka, despite objections from the advisory Economic and Social Council.
The pay rise will take effect from 2019, the entity government said in a press release on Thursday.
The minimum salary in the Serb Republic is set by the entity government under a proposal of the Economic and Social Council - an advisory body established in order to promote social dialogue and harmonize interests among workers' organizations, employers and the government.
If the Council fails to reach an agreement on a proposal, then a decision is passed by the Serb Republic government. On December 18, the Council failed to come up with a decision on the lowest salary for 2019, due to constant disagreements between the unions and the association of employers. A week later the Trade Union Association of the Serb Republic, sent an official request to the government to increase the minimum monthly wage to 500 marka, the organisation said on its website.
The Serb Republic is one of the two autonomous entities forming Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other is the Federation.
(1 euro = 1.95 marka)