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| A person hands over several tens of 5000 Albanian Leks to another person, source. |
On April 1st, the increase of the minimum wage to 40,000 lek entered into force in Albania, and this was a necessary step, positively commented on by businesses as well. The Secretariat of the Investment Council, in a survey conducted in March of this year with over 500 enterprises of various sizes, found that:
"Approximately 50% of businesses believe that the increase of the minimum wage was necessary/very necessary. This indicates that there is an agreement on the need to improve employee wages," the report assesses. The Secretariat emphasizes that a considerable percentage of companies (34%) have over 50% of their employees receiving the minimum wage.
According to him, this highlights the importance of increasing the minimum wage for many workers. However, the wage increase has also automatically raised the operating costs for these enterprises, with small businesses being more affected, while the impact on larger ones has been more modest (84% have experienced an increase up to 30%).
According to the report, companies have a mixed perception of the impact of the minimum wage increase on their competitiveness. While 39% believe it had no impact, 37% think it made them less competitive. This perception is the same among exporters as well.
According to the Secretariat of the Investment Council, half of the companies perceive an increase in employee motivation at work (to some extent/considerably), mainly in services, tourism, and industry following the wage increase. This suggests that higher wages can lead to an increase in morale and employee motivation.
Meanwhile, despite the costs, the wage increase policy is positively evaluated by companies in their future forecasts, considering it as an instrument to curb the wave of emigration of workers.