Salaries up by 20 percent in July

TIRANA, June.7- the government will increase all low wages in the sector of education, health care, police and army forces starting July 2007. During the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers Prime Minister Berisha said that all budget salaries will increase as well as pensions. The Finance Ministry clarified that this rise will apply to salaries that currently are under 200.000 leks. Different sectors will have different changes with healthcare and education salaries up by 20 percent while police, army forces by 15. Berisha said that only low salaried categories will benefit since those who have higher ones are already benefiting form lower taxation on their revenues. These changes are being done in the context of the supplementary budget which will be submitted to the Parliament at the beginning of July.
The priority of the current administration has been to give “a social face” to the economic reforms hence this initiative is seen in the context of providing some sort of cushion to the less privileged categories of budgeted salary employees in the face of new taxes. As for the supplementary budget, the second one in a row for the right-wing government, it has been explained by government members a s a positive achievement of the fight against fiscal evasion, corruption and as a sign of economic growth.