Skopje, 10 February 2026 (MIA) – Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that the agreement reached between the government and representative unions of public administration workers is historic and will allow a 40 percent wage raise for employees. He added that, as the largest employer, the government is finalizing the agreement with its colleagues.

"This agreement between the government and the trade unions represents another historic deal. Over the next two years and several months, from April 2026 to April 2028, around 11,000 employees from the administration and from court and prosecution services will receive salaries about 40 percent higher than what they earn today. With this, the government, as the largest employer, is completing its agreement with its counterparts. This was preceded by agreements with healthcare workers, then education workers, then other institutions, and finally now with Trade Union of Public and State Administration (SADU) and Trade Union of Workers in Administration, Judicial Authorities and Citizens' Associations (UPOZ). We also included employees in the services of courts and prosecutors’ offices, around 11,000 of our colleagues. Once all this is finalized, we can say that by the end of this government’s term, we will have regulated our obligations and relations with our colleagues," Mickoski said.

Commenting on today’s blockade of Parliament by the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM), Mickoski said he considers both the blockade and the protests to be politically motivated.

“This will continue because it has a political background. One of today’s protesters previously held a press conference with me, in a visibly exalted state and satisfied with what we had achieved. Today, you see him blocking Parliament together with another individual who claims to stand up for workers’ rights, while abusing official vehicles for private use and engaging in many other actions. I have a sense that in the period ahead, the workers he leads and manipulates in these politically driven processes will also come to realize this,” he said after visiting the construction work on the Nevena Georgieva – Dunja primary school in Kisela Voda.

PM Mickoski added that the key issue for him is that the government, as the largest employer, must settle its obligations, which it has already done.

“We have fulfilled our duties. In the bipartite dialogue between employers and workers, we act as a facilitator and will support any solution they agree on. But we will not support politically instructed self-proclaimed leaders, and we do not intend to take part in such processes,” he said.

Photo: Government