SAME STATE, DIFFERENT STANDARDS

AIM, PODGORICA, September 10, 1994.

Serbia - Montenegro: wages and equality

Summary:

Why are wages lower and life more expensive in Montenegro than in the other federal unit - Serbia? During the summer prices remained unchanged in Serbia, while production was somewhat lower - in Montenegro, during this same period prices went up by 13.6 percent, and production went down by as much as 27.5 percent. The Montenegrin Government has no answer for the time being. In the first six months the average wages in Serbia were higher by 19.6%, to become even higher in the last few months. Since the launching of Avramovic's programme employees' salaries increased by 83.6%, thereby fuelling an inflationary psychosis among the workers who demand higher pay. There are no announcements of strikes, but trade unions threaten to leave the negotiations with the Government, which refuses to accept the trade union proposal on the lowest price of labour.

Text:

The Montenegrin Government has announced a complete comparative analysis of trends in production, inflation and living standard in Montenegro and Serbia, this week. This decision followed the publication of statistical data on the return of a two-digit monthly inflation in Montenegro. As opposed to Serbia, where the prices were constant and production registered a relatively modest seasonal decline, in Montenegro prices in July rose by 13.6 percent, while output fell by as much as 27.5 percent.

Where is Life Better

That was sufficient reason for a more or less argumented story on much better life and standard of the employed in Serbia than in Montenegro to spread like an avalanche among the population. In parallel there started a quarrel with the trade unions concerning the minimum wages for August, attesting to the increasing dissatisfaction of the population with the current living standard levels and, at the same time, presaging much broader social and political problems (primarily for the Government) during the coming weeks and months.

The very fact that the Government, in a rather long press release, announces a task which it yet has to do, shows that it did not have the right answers to the questions asked. Good old experiences say: if you don't know what to do with a problem, then set up a commission or announce that that problem will be comprehensively studied. The Government opted for the latter verison, namely a "comprehensive study". For the beginning, it seems that such an announcement was considered sufficient to appease the public. However, difficulties in maintaining the stability of the domestic currency are multiplying. Regular salary increases are already becoming a habit, although money is increasingly scarce. In the first seven months average wages rose by 83.6 percent. An inflationary psychology is awakening. Workers ever more frequently compare their wages with those of their colleagues from Serbia and demand that wage levels be equalized. It is difficult to oppose the logic according to which in one state with a single economic programme, wages should be approximately equal.

Average wages in Serbia were by 19.6 percent higher than in Montenegro in the first six months of the year. When we take account of the past several months, the difference is even larger, although it is gradually and slowly diminishing, to be frank. In March, employees in Serbia earned 37 percent more then their colleagues in Montenegro, while in July their salaries were by 21 percent higher on the average. At the same time, prices were almost identical. This can be seen when the values of the consumer baskets are compared, with the Serbian one being just a few percent more expensive.

During the summer, however, food prices went up rapidly in Montenegro - in July, industrial foodstuffs were by 63 percent higher, bread and pastry by 77 percent, etc. Statistics show that in the same month living costs in Serbia went down by 2 percent, and in Montenegro by 9.1 percent. But, behind this figure is actually a much stronger attack at the living standard of the population, because households generally spend all their reevnue on food, which has become vastly more expensive. It turns out, therefore, that employees in Montenegro, first, work for smaller wages and then pay for more costly goods ( most frequently brought from Serbia) which naturally, many do not find to their liking. The average July wages in Montenegro were din. 154. Earnings in the economy were 118 and in non-economic activities 189 dinars. At the same time, average wages in Serbia were 185 dinars, of which 180 in the economy and 208 in non-economic activities. Experts forecast August earnings to increase by 10 - 15 percent. That is, consider the Trade Unions, insufficient to cover the rapidly rising current expenditures of the population.

And while workers in Serbia are already starting hunger strikes, Montenegrins are only grumbling for the time being. The Trade Unions are announcing a break of negotiations with the Government and the Chamber of Economy on the price of labour. In their last public statement the Unions say that in the future they will calculate the social minimum for survival themselves, and call workers in enterprises to fight for such a minimum "with all means of trade union struggle". Preparations for autumn troubles are beginning.

Dragan Djuric (AIM Podgorica)