Albanian PM Promises to Raise Wages

Tirana | 10 June 2010 |

Sali Berisha

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha declared on Wednesday that the government will raise salaries and pensions by July 1, based on what he called the excellent results of the economy in the first several months of 2010.

“This wage raise is against the trend of what all governments in Europe and perhaps the world are doing,” said Berisha during a cabinet meeting.

The Albanian premier explained that the decision was based on the growth of Albania’s exports and bank deposits in the first five months of 2010, and lashed out at the opposition for accusing the government of running the country into an economic crisis.

“The growth of ‘Made in Albania’ exports, a 14 per cent growth in bank deposits and 28 per cent more new businesses registered are data that rebuke all the dark and ill-willed propaganda made today against Albania’s economy,” Berisha said.

The announcement comes while institutions that monitor Albania’s economy, like the World Bank, are calling on the government to reduce the country's spiraling public debt, which has risen steeply in the last two years.

According to the Ministry of Finance, revenues from taxes and customs fees rose only by 3.9 per cent in the first four months of 2010. It is expected that the wage hike, which will likely be on the order of 10 to 12 per cent, will be financed by more debt or the sale of public assets.