Private sector reference wages lifted

TIRANA, June 20 – In a warned move, government decided on Wednesday to remove reference wages for the private sector, a decision which had been in force since 2007. The decision comes just before government is expected to increase minimum monthly wages by another lek 1,000 to 21,000 lek and amid concerns some of the key sectors such as the garment and footwear producers had voiced about rising costs in these times of crisis due to falling demand from EU partners.
Social security contributions currently stand at 24.5 percent, of which 15 percent is paid by employers and 9.5 percent by employees. Meanwhile, health insurance contributions are at 3.4 percent, shared by 1.7 percent between employers and employees.
Government is planning to remove the value added tax for imports of machinery and equipment and merge the national council of business and labour into a single body as part of efforts to improve the business climate and increase Albania’s competitiveness.