Skopje, 21 October 2024 (MIA) – The Union of Organisation of Public Prosecutors, part of Trade Union of Administration, Judiciary and Citizens' Associations (UPOZ), informs that employees of the Public Prosecutor's Office have not received their salaries for September.

They point out that for several months, salaries at the Public Prosecutor's Office have been paid late, exceeding the legally established deadline of the 15th of the month.

“Since the new government took office, salary supplements for public prosecutor's office staff have been set at 20 percent. However, the payment of salaries for all employees, including public prosecutors and staff, is facing challenges. According to our information, securing approval from the Ministry of Finance for the reallocation of funds to cover these salary supplements is proving difficult, leading to delays in salary payments. We are conscious of the completely devastated state budget, but we are not demanding more than what we are entitled to by law. We want to raise awareness among the public that officials (prosecutors) and staff are not the same. Staff in the prosecutor’s offices perform their duties honestly, effectively, and efficiently, despite one employee handling the workload of three or four due to a shortage of personnel. As public prosecutor’s employees, we do not interfere in the government’s policies, we simply ask that the efforts of those who carry out their work diligently and professionally to be recognized. We should not allow those who are not at fault for either the trust or the functioning of the prosecutor’s office to face consequences,” the Unions stated in a Facebook post.

As outlined in the post, the average salary of the employees in the public prosecutor’s office is 28,000 denars. In June, 20 percent salary supplements were paid on July 16, while July’s payments were made on August 8, and August’s on September 18, following the budget revision.

The UPOZ union notes that the Republic Public Prosecutor acts as the employer in the Public Prosecutor's Office, but it is the Ministry of Finance that grants approval for salary payments. “Although the Public Prosecutor's Office should have a budget amounting to at least 0.4 percent of GDP, the Ministry of Finance only approves and transfers around 0.2 percent of GDP,” the post reads.

Photo: UPOZ Facebook