Salaries in Eastern European Countries Increase Weakly

Salaries in Eastern European countries increase slightly

VIENNA. Despite robust economic growth in recent years, wages in Central and Eastern Europe are not increasing as a result.

At Skoda in Prague Image: C. Hebestreit

This gave rise to a study of eight countries particularly important for Austria: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. The study was conducted by the Vienna Institute of International Economic Studies (WIIW) on behalf of the Chamber of Labor.

The level of wages is still very low compared to Western Europe. "We are talking about hourly wages in the range of six to seven euros," said study author and WIIW deputy director Mario Holzner. Bulgaria and Romania are an exception, where wage growth has been relatively strong for some time. One of the reasons for lower wage development is the dismantling of collective bargaining systems as a result of the crisis, Holzner said. More flexibilization and collective agreements at the company level have made this possible

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