While They Convince Us We Live Well, the Trade Union Minimum Basket Exceeds 70,000 Denars, and Food and Beverages Alone Cost More Than One Minimum Wage!

The Trade Union Minimum Basket for October 2026 amounts to 70,358 denars, an increase of 926 denars compared to September. For food and beverages alone, a four-member household needs 26,170 denars, which is 124 denars more than the minimum wage.

While we hear daily assurances that citizens are living better, the reality of workers and their families is shown by the numbers. Living costs keep rising, and wages are not enough even to cover basic needs.

According to the data for October 2026, the value of the Trade Union Minimum Basket reached 70,358 denars, compared to 69,432 denars in September. This means that in just one month, an additional 926 denars are needed to cover the minimum monthly needs of a four-member household.

Particularly worrying is the fact that the costs for food and beverages reached 26,170 denars, while the minimum wage is 26,046 denars.

In other words, one minimum wage is no longer enough even to buy the food and beverages a four-member household needs for one month. And where are the bills for electricity, water, heating, transport, clothing, medicines and all the other necessary expenses?

The situation is even more alarming when compared with the beginning of the year. In January 2026, the Trade Union Minimum Basket was 66,413 denars, of which 24,211 denars were needed for food and beverages. In October, compared to January, the value of the basket is higher by 3,945 denars.

These figures clearly show that the burden of increased living costs falls directly on the backs of workers and their families.

One average wage and one minimum wage are barely enough to cover the value of the Trade Union Minimum Basket. This means that even when a family has two employed members, one receiving an average wage and the other a minimum wage, almost the entire joint income goes toward covering basic monthly needs.

A wage must provide a dignified life, not just survival from one paycheck to the next. Workers must not be forced every month to choose which bills they will pay, which of their needs they will postpone, and what they will give up in order to make it to the next month.

Workers deserve a dignified wage and life, not assurances that they are living well while they struggle daily to cover their basic needs!