Skopje, 27 July 2022 (MIA) – The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) said the government should make a decision to increase wages by 18.4 percent in line with the law, instead of manipulating workers with lump-sum wage increases without any criteria.  

“The government should immediately make a decision to increase the salaries of employees in the public sector by 18.4 percent in accordance with the alignment as set forth in the law, and not to discriminate against the employees with lump-sum increases of 2, 3, 5, 10 or 15 percent, making an attempt to undermine the general strike, and creating an even greater revolt among the employees,” the Unions said in a press release on Wednesday.  

According to the Unions, the government is taking a wrong policy, thinking that it is creating policies to deal with the crisis, but data show the opposite, i.e. that the difference between the average net salary and the union basket in 2022 is Mden 7,384.  

“On the other hand, the impact of the rise in prices and the rise in living costs, the growth of inflation, which is increasing by the month and is 14.5% in June, affects the decrease in the real value of workers’ incomes, as well as the purchasing power of workers, leading to impoverishment of the entire population, which is one of the biggest factors discouraging and demotivating workers,” the press release adds.  

The Federation of Trade Unions reminds the government, municipalities and employers from the private sector that the Criminal Code applies to everyone, without exception, and provides that anyone who knowingly doesn’t comply with the law, another regulation or a collective agreement and thus infringes, takes away or restricts a right of an employee is to be punished with a fine or imprisonment up to one year.