Minimal wage expected to be raised for unqualified workers

TIRANA, June.21- The government will address the problem of decreasing net payments to employees, which resulted from the newly implemented tax laws, by increasing the minimum salary to 16,800 lek. This applies to unqualified employees, since the minimum wages and the tax requirements for qualified workers were addresses last month. The former level of minimum salaries was 14,000 lek, so the increase will substantially affect the cost of production. The proposal to raise wages is at the committee level now but will soon be approved at the Council of Ministers because the flat tax rate is expected to be enacted on July 1. The controversy over the new tax laws started immediately when the Association of Shoe and textile Producers predicted disaster for its industry. Head of the Association, Edmond Rusmaili, has declared that this decision would bring the industry to a guaranteed collapse since the low cost of production is what it keeps it in the market. The textile and shoe industries have been one of the rare industries to have success in exporting as well.