Minimum pay could go up 18.9 pct next year – Lithuania's c.bank

The minimum monthly pre-tax pay could go up 18.9 percent, or 138 euros, to 868 euros in Lithuania next year, the central Bank of Lithuania says, adding, however, that it would be in favor of more cautious decisions, such as delaying decisions on the minimum pay or raising it in stages, due to the high level of economic uncertainty.

Kotryna Tamoseviciene, head of the central bank's Macroeconomics and Forecasting Division, says such a minimum pay has been calculated based on the formula agreed by the Tripartite Council, adding that the proposal is not to deviate from it. She warned, however, that if the economy slows down, raising the minimum pay will create additional challenges.

"We propose to continue using the formula and we see no compelling reasons to deviate significantly from it. However, we see that, at the moment, there's a high degree of economic uncertainty and the balance of risks to economic growth is negative. Therefore, we would support more cautious decisions, perhaps decision should be made later in the year, or other options should be considered to protect against risks and to be able to assess the changes in the economy if they start to materialize," Tamoseviciene said at the Tripartite Council meeting on Tuesday.