Skopje, 3 November 2023 (MIA) - The 2024 Budget that is being finalized will not include funds for higher wages of elected and appointed officials, said Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi on Friday.

Bytyqi said the Government would take the decision, not leaving it up to officials to give up on the projected 10-percent rise.

"The increase will not materialize. It was reported that officials will receive higher wages next year due to the methodology, but this will not happen. There will also be cuts in other areas in which we see unproductive costs, because we want to bring the deficit to the midterm projection, whereas capital investments will remain much higher than the projected budget deficit. We realized that all 1,260 officials cannot be addressed by a single law but seven, since changes in one law derogate certain rights in another, which is unconstitutional. The working group will soon produce a proposal that will be forwarded to the Government and then the Parliament," Bytyqi told reporters.

According to him, a systemic solution regarding the wage methodology would soon be available, adding that the General Collective Agreement clearly stated what employees should expect in 2024 and 2025.

"In 2025, an entirely new wage methodology will take stage, according to which wages in the public sector will be calculated in the same way as it is done for elected and appointed officials. Of course, collective agreements by sectors are also signed but they cannot violate the principles of the General Collective Agreement," explained Bytyqi.

Photo: MIA