Skopje, 6 February 2025 (MIA) – 95 percent of the Trade Union of Workers in Administration, Judicial Authorities and Citizens' Associations (UPOZ) consider as acceptable the agreement made with the government on 40-percent salary increase, UPOZ has said Friday. 

In line with the accepted proposal, the trade unions are deciding today whether they are in favor of having their salaries increased by 40 percent.

“After all trade unions have expressed their opinion, UPOZ next week will meet with government representatives to agree the scope and course of the collective agreement,” said the press release. 

On Thursday, UPOZ president Trpe Deanovski after a meeting with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said the government accepted the demand of the Trade Union of Workers in Administration, Judicial Authorities and Citizens' Associations (UPOZ) but not in full. Nevertheless, he said, it is important they accepted the payment of wage benefits for workers in state administration and the judiciary.

"As we announced last year, they will be paid across several years, in three installments of eight percent each, not ten as we asked. Regretfully, we did not receive them last year, but the Government has accepted to pay them as of this March through signing of individual collective agreements," said Deanovski.

He added that the text of these collective agreements would have to be drafted together with representatives of the Government and UPOZ, followed by their vote for endorsement by the union.

"If union members accept the agreements, they can be signed immediately. If not, the Government will get the answer that a year has already been lost, with workers maybe demanding higher amounts than what is offered now. We will then see whether the Government adds other conditions," said Deanovski.

Yesterday's meeting came after UPOZ said the PM's offer for the wage growth was acceptable and would be discussed within union organizations.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski assessed Thursday’s meeting with UPOZ representatives as constructive, stressing that the government presented the conditions and rules for the 40 percent wage increase for administrative workers and is now awaiting a response from the union on whether they accept the government’s proposal.

“We set the conditions and the rules under which we are prepared to advance this process. They, like the representatives of the other union from KSS, said they would consult with the leadership within their union branch and inform us today or tomorrow. If everything is in order, then on Sunday we should finally agree, and from Monday we will be able to start drafting a template of what that individual union agreement would look like. Then, of course, it would have to be adopted in various working groups and on the basis of that the payment of the March wages would begin in April with an 8 percent increase on top of the adjustment. The same would happen in 2027 and 2028, which means that in around two years the administrative workers, those who haven’t received wage increases, will receive wages higher by at least 40 percent than current wages,” Mickoski said.

MIA file photo