Skopje, 6 April 2023 (MIA) – The Government must do everything in its power and authority to make sure that the wages of officials remain at the current level, said President Stevo Pendarovski on Thursday, commenting on the Constitutional Court’s decision that enabled wage increases by 78 percent for state officials.

“You know my position. I am sad that more officials don’t share my position. The decision of the Constitutional Court must be respected, because disrespecting a Constitutional Court decision is a crime. However, and this is what I called for in my first statement on this issue as well, the Government must do everything in its power and authority, and it does have the authority, to make sure that the wages of officials, starting from me and all the way to the local self-government, remain at current levels, whether by changing coefficients or by changing the base wage. Otherwise, we can’t come out in front of the citizens and say that we are increasing our wages during this difficult situation when we are capping the prices of basic products,” stressed Pendarovski.

By abolishing two articles from the Law on Officials’ Wages and Compensation, the Constitutional Court enabled a 78 percent increase in the wages of state officials. The decision, apart from affecting the wages of the Prime Minister, President, Parliament Speaker and all other officials, also applies to the wages of the Constitutional Judges.

Photo: MIA Archive