Skopje, 3 July 2023 (MIA) - Union representatives said Monday that an agreement was not reached with the Government at today's session of the Economic-Social Council while adding there is a shift from the Government and the Ministry of Finance regarding their proposals and remarks.

The unions propose that salaries of elected and appointed officials return to the level prior to the decision of the Constitutional Court, so that the increase is the same for them as it is for workers. The unions proposed that last year's inflation, which stood at 14.5 percent, is the basic parameter used for increase of the public sector wages for all.

"We proposed that last year's inflation of 14.5 percent is the basic parameter used for increase of the public sector wages, starting from the lowest category up to the highest, i.e. the country's President, so that we all get the same raise percentage-wise," said Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) president Slobodan Trendafilov after the meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Ministry of Finance.

Trendafilov said there are nuances in reaching a solution but added an agreement is still far away.

"The model of 2,5 years for alignment as is the case with the minimum wage, namely a methodology that takes into account the average wage multiplied by coefficient of complexity. The SSM believes that if the General Collective Agreement in the public sector materializes by September, then the officials' wages should return to the level prior to the decision of the Constitutional Court (resulting in their increase by 78 percent), so that the increase is the same for them as it is for workers," said Trendafilov.

Union for Education, Science and Culture (SONK) president Jakim Nedelkov said the formula of the average wage multiplied by the job complexity coefficient is the model that should be applied in the coming period.

"SONK and the Confederation of Free Unions are focused on the period of salary alignment. We are not talking about an increase but alignment, i.e. compensating in order to reach the same level as last year," said Nedelkov.

On the 2,5-year transitional period, he said it would be acceptable once the dynamics of the wage alignment is agreed in line with the existing collective agreements.

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