Following employees of customs and taxes, other sectors of the public administration and other services in North Macedonia protested for higher wages, while a general strike was also announced if their demands are not taken into account by institutions.<\/p>\n
The protests are initially serving as a warning, with work stoppages ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours per day. However, according to the unions, they could escalate into mass protests and even a general strike.<\/p>\n
This dissatisfaction follows the increase in salaries for elected and appointed officials, starting from the state president, prime minister, ministers, deputies, directors of enterprises, and members of executive boards.<\/p>\n
Since April, they have been receiving salaries higher by 78 percent, ranging from 900 to 1,200 euros more.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, there will be strikes and protests in the future. The pressure will continue not only on the public sector but also on the private sector since there has been no increase in wages there, so they are also facing a labor shortage. The minimum wage was increased by 2,000 denars or 30 euros, while officials\u2019 salaries increased by over 1,000 euros. This is unfair and oppressive as they were always talking about economic crisis, debts, inflation, and other things, and then overnight, their salaries were increased,\u201d said Ivan Peshevski, representative of the construction and industry union.<\/p>\n
He emphasized that workers in North Macedonia are in an unsustainable position because with the income they receive, they cannot afford even the basic necessities of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe consumer basket has reached almost 50,000 denars (800 euros), and to secure these incomes, a minimum wage and an average wage in a four-member family are needed to provide the most basic necessities of life. The increase in prices of basic food products, municipal services, fuel, electricity, and other necessities has greatly reduced the purchasing power of workers,\u201d said Peshevski.<\/p>\n
General strikes were also announced by the healthcare sector unions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorkers are demotivated when they see such significant salary increases for state officials. There are about 20,000 employees in healthcare waiting for wage increases. They don\u2019t have the will to work when they see the negligence of the institutions,\u201d said Ljubisa Karanfilovski, president of the Independent Union of Healthcare, Pharmacy, and Social Protection.<\/p>\n
Due to low salaries in Skopje clinics, doctors and other staff are moving to the private sector or abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet them tell us whether this welfare state needs public healthcare, where 90 percent of the population is treated in public clinics and other healthcare facilities, or should they go to private hospitals?! Every day, we have doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel leaving their jobs because of low salaries,\u201d declared Predrag Serafimovski from the Skopje clinics\u2019 union.<\/p>\n
The Government of North Macedonia says that the solution to salaries lies in \u201ccollective agreements\u201d, which should be reached in every sector, without specifying the details of this form and the extent of possible wage increases.<\/p>\n
The minimum wage in North Macedonia in March was increased to 20,175 denars (330 euros), while the average wage was 33,943 denars (550 euros). In March, inflation was 14.7 percent, which is 2 percent lower than in February.<\/p>\n
Abil Baush, an expert in economic affairs, says that the institutions must take urgent action, just as they did when they increased their own salaries by up to 78 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this methodology they mention every time has passed its deadline because if we want to have comfort in the public sector, then a new salary methodology should be adopted as soon as possible. Naturally, not only salaries should be increased but also the working conditions in the public sector should be improved,\u201d says Baush.<\/p>\n
North Macedonia, with a population of about 1.8 million, according to the Statistical Office has more than 130,000 employees working in the public administration and around 350,000 in the private sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Following employees of customs and taxes, other sectors of the public administration and other services in North Macedonia protested for higher wages, while a general strike was also announced if their demands are not taken into account by institutions. The protests are initially serving as a warning, with work stoppages ranging from 30 minutes to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[164],"tags":[2836,823,243,151,298,2025,336,2946,1773,2352,515],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n