Skopje, 2 February 2024 (MIA) - Employees in the Health Insurance Fund (HIF) subsidiaries will go on strike as of Monday.

The HIF Union said Friday that the subsidiaries will perform only necessary tasks, such as signing up minors for health insurance, regulating health insurance of hospitalized individuals and emergency treatment abroad.

Only one employee per regional unit will be handling documentation, the Union added.

"We want to thank citizens and public and private healthcare doctors who support employees and their demands, and understand their issues regarding the wages," The Union said in a press release.

HIF employees gathered earlier in the week to express their dissatisfaction from the possible wage reduction.

"On January 9, the Government recommended a wage cut by 21 percent, in order to align them with the adopted budget, meaning that employee salaries will reduce by 21 percent," said HIF Union president Branko Adzhigogov.

According to the Union, this decision will affect 831 HIF employees, 25 percent of employees will receive a wage below minimum, and another 25 percent will receive minimum wage.

The Finance Ministry clarified that it is not a matter of reducing wages, noting that an attempt is made to increase them again, which will have fiscal implication on the budget.

HIF wages increased several times during 2023, the Ministry added, first by Mden 2,100 (EUR 34) or seven percent in March, to align with the minimum wage, by 2.5 percent in January and 3.5 percent in August.

The General Collective Agreement foresees a 10-percent raise for all public sector employees. The cumulative wage raise for HIF employees during 2023 was 25 percent. Additionally, employees exercised the right to a vacation bonus of Mden 10,000 (EUR 164). Due to fiscal implications on the Fund's budget, the Government recommended to HIF's Management Board that the adopted Decision to increase the value points should have a delayed effect in 2025, on the grounds that the 2024 budget will not provide enough funds for a salary increase. Securing funds would be possible through reallocation from other expenditures, which would mean that funds for medicine and health services for the citizens would have to be cut in order to increase wages,” said the Finance Ministry. ssh/ik/

MIA file photo