Skopje, 17 November 2021 (MIA) – The latest measures proposed to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the country, requiring public sector employees to show vaccination certificate or negative PCR test, are in violation of the basic human rights, say the Confederation of Free Trade Unions (KSS) and the Association of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM). KSS in a statement to the media says that vaccination should be a personal choice rather than being imposed. “The motion of the Commission [for Infectious Diseases] proposing that COVID-19 test costs should be covered by the employees themselves is unacceptable given the fact that over 80,000 public sector employees are paid minimum wages, which does not cover monthly expenses,” the trade union says. KSS notes that it will use “all measures at disposal to stop the measures from being applied.” “The immunization process cannot be conducted to the detriment of the elementary rights of the citizens guaranteed under the Constitution, the international conventions and laws,” the SSM says in a statement, adding it has notified the State Labor Inspectorate about complaints from unvaccinated workers who were barred from coming to work. The Inspectorate, it noted, has said that the decision of employers to require vaccination and COVID-19 certificate is illegal. The new measures are yet to be approved by the government.