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Empresas y finanzas

Slovak government agrees 4 percent wage hike for teachers and state employees


    BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia's government has agreed a 4 percent pay raise for teachers and state employees next year, it said on Friday.

    The wage increase will cost 148 million euros (110 million pounds) a year and take effect in January, the government said in a statement.

    The average gross monthly wage in the euro zone country was 877 euros in the second quarter of this year.

    The hike, agreed with trade unions, follows a 5 percent raise for teachers and a 2.5 percent raise for other state employees in 2015. Prices have been edging lower in Slovakia in recent months.

    Prime Minister Robert Fico is seeking a third term at an election next March.

    The leftist government has also halved sales tax on staple foods to 10 percent and plans to raise the minimum wage from 380 euros to 400 euros, helped by economic recovery.

    Despite the higher welfare spending, the government predicts next year's fiscal deficit at 1.93 percent of gross domestic product, well within European Union limits, as the growing economy boosts state revenues.

    (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)