Skopje, 23 September 2022 (MIA) - The Association of Trade Unions of the Skopje University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius expects to be called for a meeting in the government aimed at meeting their demands. If not held by the end of next week, the trade union announces mediation before staging a strike. Although a meeting was announced last month with the premier, the trade union is yet to be invited, says professor Angel Ristov, president of the Association. "We will present our demands at the meeting with the premier that we've had for two years - signing of a collective agreement and gradual pay raise, 25 percent annually before getting to a 100-percent raise after four years for the staff at the country's oldest and largest university to be paid a decent and dignified salary," Ristov told MIA. The Skopje University trade union organized a warning strike to voice its demands on June 2. A protest in front of the government was also planned to take place later that month, but it was cancelled after the government promised that the union's demands will be discussed by the ministries of education and finance. "Since then, we've received no information. We were supposed to meet on August 18, but we were told that we'll be invited by the prime minister for talks about the demands. We'll wait patiently yet another week and if we receive no response, then we'll launch mediation before organizing a strike," Ristov said adding mediation is considered a legal remedy aimed to intensify negotiations of the two contracting parties. Higher education salaries in the country are one of the lowest in the region, according to him. "We understand that we're in difficult situation, but we want to see if the other party has an understanding about our demands before a collective agreement is finally signed. There has to be a response to our demands, we cannot be ignored for two years," said Ristov. The 2022/2023 academic year across the universities in the country starts on October 3. Ristov reassured that it won't be delayed by the possible pending strike. "We are here for the students, although we constantly call for dialogue as well," he concluded.