Skopje, 2 April 2025 (MIA) - The problem of the workers can be solved systemically and with a real approach, the Government said in a press release Wednesday after the leadership of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) staged a protest calling for the minimum wage to be upped to EUR 500 or for elected and appointed officials to receive a minimum wage for a year.

“The attempts to compare wages and the populist outbursts of aggression only prove the partisan background of some of the union’s leadership. While they are comparing wages, we would like to recall that we, as a Government, were opposed to the raising of the wages of officials, while the union was silent for their partisan favorites from SDSM and DUI. Just as they were silent for years while SDSM was in power and destroying the country, stealing and selling. But all of that is behind us. We see this problem as a problem of the difficult and complex socioeconomic state of the country, and not the personal political ambitions of some of the union’s leadership. For us, it is not a problem to reduce the wages, but this won’t solve the workers’ problem. Additionally, we would like to remind that this is the first Government that adopted a decision to freeze the wages of officials,” the Government said in the press release.

The Government added that the unions won’t achieve anything “by force and with such an evident partisan motivation and a malicious and unreasonable approach”.

The leadership of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) held a “public session” on Wednesday in front the Parliament building, the Government building and the building of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, where they said a general strike would be staged if the minimum wage is not increased, and a protest if workers' salaries are not upped.

Photo: MIA Archive