site.btaNo Final Decision on Minimum Wage, Only Preliminary Calculations, Labour Minister Says

“There are currently preliminary calculations for the level of the minimum wage next year, but these may change. We do not have a final decision because we need the relevant legislation in place before we can adopt the government decree containing the official proposal. Until that happens, there is no way for us to comment on specific figures,” Labour Minister Nataliya Efremova said. She made the comments during a blitz Q&A session of the parliamentary committee on labour, demographic and social policy.

The minimum wage will be determined in exactly the same way as it is every year - through a decree of the Council of Ministers and with a specific figure, Efremova said. There will be no automatic formula, despite the wishes of nationally representative workers’ and employers’ organizations, which have explicitly called for negotiations on minimum wage levels in the country, she added. According to her, there will be a mechanism that complies with European legislation.

Efremova recalled the negotiations between the social partners regarding the criteria for determining the minimum wage. She noted that no consensus had been reached on the amount. The minister emphasized that the government’s aim is to maintain active social dialogue and uphold the principle of promoting collective bargaining set out in the European directive on adequate minimum wages.

Efremova told MPs that the legislation would seek a balance that reflects both the requirements of the directive and those of Convention No. 131 of the International Labour Organization. She said the plan is to establish a minimum and maximum threshold within which the social partners would negotiate.

The minimum would be the level of the minimum wage reached in the previous year, while the maximum would be determined by a composite index consisting of four indicators, each carrying an equal weight of 25%, the minister explained. The criteria are the purchasing power of the minimum wage, the overall level and distribution of wages, the rate of wage growth, and long-term national labour productivity levels.

“I expect the Council of Ministers to adopt a bill amending the Labour Code in mid-September, which will then be submitted to Parliament,” Efremova told journalists after the Q&A session.

“If it is voted through quickly and enters into force, the relevant secondary legislation can also be amended in parallel. This is required in order to determine the exact level of the minimum wage, and at the beginning of October we will be able to discuss a possible specific amount for 2027,” she further explained.

“The government is already considering the exact figure, but for it to be formally proposed and approved, which involves public consultation, discussions, and taking into account the different views of the stakeholders, this can only happen once we have the necessary legislation in place,” Efremova added.