Djilas: President’s jeans cost as much as two teacher salaries

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Leader of the opposition Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) Dragan Djilas on Wednesday opened the parliamentary debate on the amended 2024 budget by presenting a photo that highlighted the cost of the jeans worn by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

He said the photos shows that the president is wearing jeans typically worn by Russian tycoons, costing 1,800 US dollars or over 200,000 dinars.

“I’m not asking which budget line was used to pay for them, but I am asking you: do you really believe it is moral for the president of this country to wear jeans that cost as much as two teacher salaries in Serbia?” said Djilas, adding that one leg of the president’s jeans costs more than a teacher’s salary in Serbia.

“Why do you keep saying there’s no money? There’s 105,000 dinars for one leg of the president’s jeans, but there’s no 105,000 dinars for teachers,” said Djilas.

Representative education workers’ unions have called for a one-day strike on October 2, when schools will be closed and preschools will not accept children on that day. Among their demands is a pay raise, specifically asking that starting salaries for teachers be brought in line with the national average salary in Serbia.