Skopje, 27 March 2023 (MIA) - Employees of the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Heritage Protection Office and the Film Agency stage a one-hour protest on Monday over pay rise in front of the Ministry of Finance, demanding to meet with the Finance Minster Fatmir Besimi.

Ministry of Culture union leader Branko Kostovski said that employees will gather every day here until their demands are met i.e. adequate valorization of the labour of employees in these institutions.

They demand the signing of a collective agreement and pay raise following the example of the Ministry of Finance.

“70 percent of the employees in the culture sector receive on average a salary amounting to 25,000 denars, which is not enough to survive a month. Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi did not receive our representatives last Friday, and in that sense, we want to convey a message that we will not give up, we will gather here every day,” Kostovski said.

"Therefore, it remains unclear why our proposal for signing a collective agreement was dismissed, and the Ministry of Finance approved raises for the Ministry of Finance’s own employees. We ask the government not to allow unequal treatment of public sector employees. We expect Minister Besimi to meet with us today,” Kostovski added.