Gujić warned that rising labour costs and the proposed minimum-wage model could have broader effects on construction businesses than the increase in minimum pay itself. He called for the Euro model’s overall impact on the economy to be assessed while employment and company competitiveness are protected.
Comments from representatives of construction and building-materials businesses indicate that the model could affect companies’ wider wage structures. Businesspeople warn that equalising minimum pay for workers with different qualifications and levels of responsibility could require further salary adjustments, threatening existing jobs and investment in training young staff.
Companies may need to adjust other salaries to preserve pay relationships and motivate key employees, making the total labour-cost increase greater than the rise in minimum pay alone. The sector accepts the need for higher wages and improved living standards, but says the pace of increases should allow businesses to remain sustainable.
Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, subcontractors and craft workshops are especially exposed because they often lack enough accumulated capital to absorb a sudden rise in costs. The impact also differs between a design office with a small number of engineers and a large construction company or building-materials factory with hundreds of production workers.
Businesspeople also warn that higher labour costs could affect company competitiveness and contribute to rising property prices. In a direct quote, Gujić said construction “shares the fate of the labour market” and added that sustainable wage growth depends on construction companies being able to support it over the long term.
