Pirot, with the average salary of 71,733 dinars, takes the second place on the list of the towns and municipalities with the highest average salaries, immediately after the Belgrade municipalities of Vracar, Novi Beograd and Stari Grad.
About 3,500 employees of the town’s largest company – Tigar Tyres, owned by the French tyre maker, Michelin – receive an average of 80,000 dinars a month, plus a bonus in November. Also, the workers engaged in the construction of the Corridor 10 and civil servants contribute to the high average.
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Several years ago, Michelin invested 300 million euro in the launch of the new production facility called Big Tigar, which employed a number of young people from Pirot.
On the other hand, head of the local chapter of the Federation of Trade Unions, Rodoljub Ciric explains that the said average salary in Pirot does not represent a realistic situation.
“The data used for the calculation of the average salary dates back to November, when Tigar Tyres’ workers also receive considerable bonuses. The average salary in December, disbursed on January 9th, is lower by over 10,000 dinars”, Ciric explains and adds that the average salary, calculated at the beginning of this year and amounting to 52,214 dinars, corresponds more to the real situation. “The average salary in Pirot is about 6% higher than the state average and that is the reality”, he adds.
According to the rules of conduct at Tigar Tyres, none of the employees are allowed to comment on their salaries outside the company without a specific permission from their management.
In terms of living costs, Pirot is deemed as one of the most affordable towns in Serbia. Certain business branches are known for the fierce competition. For instance, some of the local ice cream makers, of which there are many, had to reduce their price of ice cream at just 10 dinars per swoop due to a very strong competition. On the other end of the spectrum are workers who are working in companies like Angropromet, Radnik and Prvi Maj, whose salary is about 20,000 dinars and whose employers do not pay either health or pension insurance.
(Vecernje Novosti, 31.01.2019)
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