Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
An article titled, "Eurostat reveals Albania has the lowest minimum wage in Europe according to purchasing power".
Ky Text was published today (April 12) by the medium, "albanianpost.com".
What's wrong with this content?
in subheading The incorrect claim has been made that Kosovo is among the countries that do not have a national minimum wage.
This media outlet referred to a publication by "eurostat.com", the official website of the European Union (EU) for publishing statistics (see here).
The document also discusses the regulation of the minimum wage in ten candidate countries and potential candidates for EU membership, where Kosovo is also mentioned as a country that does not have a minimum wage (see here).
It is not known from which year "eurostat.com" obtained the data when referring to Kosovo, but the article presents minimum wage data for countries in Europe for the year 2025.
In the Labor Law, which entered into force in 2010, Article 57 regulates the setting of the minimum wage (see here).
Article 57
Minimum wage
1. The Government of Kosovo, at the end of each calendar year, determines the minimum wage according to the proposal of the Council.
Economic-Social.
2. When determining the minimum wage, the following factors should be taken into account:
2.1. cost of living expenses;
2.2. unemployment rate percentage;
2.3. the general situation in the labor market; and
2.4. the level of competitiveness and productivity in the country.
3. The minimum wage is determined based on working hours, for a period of one (1) year, which is published
in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo.
4. The minimum wage may be determined by agreement at the national level, at the branch level and at the company level.
the enterprise, but which must not be lower than the minimum wage provided for in paragraph 1 of this
it isn't.
Hibrid.info has found that on August 23, 2024, the Law on Amending and Supplementing the Laws Determining the Amount of the Minimum Wage Benefit, the Procedures for Determining the Minimum Wage, and the Tax Rates on Annual Personal Income came into force (see here).
While the old article of the Labor Law stipulated that proposals for setting the minimum wage should come from Economic and Social Council (composed of employee organizations (unions), employer organizations, and the Government of Kosovo), through amendments to this Law, it was determined that in the absence of such a proposal from this council, the relevant Minister of Finance, after informing the Economic and Social Council, may submit such a proposal to the Government of Kosovo.
Article 57 with amendments to the Law
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo shall, at the end of each calendar year, determine the minimum wage based on the proposal of the Economic and Social Council. In the absence of such a proposal from the Economic and Social Council, the relevant Minister of Finance, after informing the Economic and Social Council, may submit such a proposal to the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.
Upon entry into force, this change enabled the Government of Kosovo to act, which a few days later took DECISION to increase the minimum wage in the country to 350 euros gross for workers of all ages, without distinction (see here).
This decision repealed the minimum wage determination that had been in place since 2011 (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that Kosovo does not have a national minimum wage is unfounded.
The determination of the minimum wage in our country is regulated by law, while since August of last year, the decision of the Government of Kosovo to set the minimum wage at 350 euros gross, for all workers regardless of age, has been in force.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "unverified".
Reasoning:
The "Unverified" rating is given to those informative contents that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which could not be verified due to certain circumstances (speed, lack of sources) during the publication of the content.