Skopje, 19 April 2023 (MIA) - Unfortunately, the increase in the wages of officials is a decision of the Constitutional Court. I neither agree. My wage and the wages of the ministers have not yet been increased. We are looking for a way to put everything back to its original state, said Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trenchevska.

She told Telma TV on Wednesday that a new general collective agreement for the public sector is being prepared, and the trade unions were to submit a new methodology for calculating wages by yesterday.

"I don't know if they have submitted it. At the last meeting of the Economic and Social Council, we discussed that wages in the public sector should be based on the same methodology, including those of elected and appointed persons," said Trenchevska, adding that this will solve all issues. 

Asked whether it is acceptable that the calculation value be the past year's average wage with complexity coefficient of a job, as it is for elected and appointed officials according to a same model, she said it should be looked into and discussed. 

"There should be a complexity coefficient, as there is in the private sector. Whether it should be the average wage, or the minimum wage requires a discussion to be opened at the Economic and Social Council, but it should be the same methodology for all employees who receive a wage in the public sector, including elected and appointed persons," said Trenchevska. 

Photo: MIA archive