Gov’t Reduces Price of Flour, Increases Pay in Education, Health Care

Serbian Government building (BETAPHOTO/NENAD PETROVIC)

On Sept. 18, the Serbian government adopted a Decree limiting the price of staple foods, reducing the price of flour after a drop in market prices of wheat.

The reduced prices apply to the T-400 and T-500 types of flour in one-kilogram packaging, the government said in a press release.

The government also adopted a Conclusion on amending conclusions establishing the base for calculating wage payment, starting with wages for September 2023, which raises the base by 5.5 percent for employees in multiple areas, sectors and institutions.

In education, this increase in wages will apply to employees in pre-schools, elementary schools and high schools, education support staff, and employees in health care and welfare: nurses and medical attendants in health care and other institutions, including the Sports Bureau, penitentiary institutions, and caregivers and nurses working in welfare.

The conclusion was adopted to implement the recently passed revised national budget for 2023.

Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said this was a continuation of the policy of preserving the Serbian citizens' standard of living at a time when worldwide crisis and inflation affect daily life, adding that pensioners can look forward to a 5.5-percent increase in their income in October, and that all of the above, and additionally the rest of the public sector, will see another salary and pension increase in January 2024.