Skopje, 12 February 2026 (MIA) – SSM’s protests have a political background, orchestrated, motivated and inspired by the opposition, with Slobodan Trendafilov acting as a proxy. The public will see this in the coming days from the evidence we possess, because they deserve to know who the people blocking the streets are and what connections they have with the leaders of political parties. They will see that these are prominent party activists, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Thursday.

According to him, the opposition chose union leader Slobodan Trendafilov as their representative to prevent the wage increase demands from being politicized.

“That is legitimate if they believe it will harm the government, but we will fight against it to prove otherwise, that it is not the case. What the government can do is use the legal mechanisms and now salaries will be leveled, meaning the minimum wage will be increased in accordance with the law. The government, as an employer, has agreements with almost 99% of its staff through collective contracts valid until 2028,” he told reporters after laying the cornerstone for a sports hall at Dimo Hadzi Dimov primary school in Vlae, Karposh municipality.

As he said, one of Slobodan Trendafilov’s colleagues, a few days ago at a press conference with him at the government, appeared visibly satisfied and said they had reached a historic agreement. Two days later, however, he showed solidarity with Trendafilov “and is again causing problems for the citizens of Skopje, thinking that if the political demands of the opposition are presented through SSM, they will win public support.”

“I believe their strategy is unsuccessful. The demands are within the institutions; for that, the Economic and Social Council exists, there is bipartite dialogue, and discussions are ongoing. We are ready to negotiate, to sit down and discuss the expired General Collective Agreement, and to reach a final solution,” Mickoski added. 

Photo: MIA