Skopje, 12 February 2026 (MIA) - The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) staged a blockade of the Economic Chamber on Thursday, the second one as part of its campaign over demands for increase of the minimum wage to EUR 600 and a EUR 100 increase of all other wages. Protesting workers sent a message to employers urging them to agree on increasing the minimum wage and all other salaries and to call on the Government to subsidize contributions. 

"Here we are where the bosses are, those who drove our entire families abroad, the bosses who refuse to increase the minimum wage and refuse to increase all other wages. The government already said it has been negotiating with its employees, and left the bosses to be blamed for the upcoming general strike in both the public and private sectors," said SSM head Slobodan Trendafilov. 

Trendafilov reiterated that today, just as on Tuesday in front of the Macedonian Parliament, they decided to have no more than 21 representatives of the union on the street.

"The intention of having 21 people on the street is so as to observe the law on public gatherings. If there were no limit of at least 20 people on the street, I would be standing here alone today, so that they would not take videos, so that no worker would be photographed. All the pressure they are trying to force upon us will not make us give up," Trendafilov said. 

Protesters called on employers to give up on part of their own profits to enable workers to live a dignified life by increasing wages. 

"If bosses don't give a piece of the pie to the employees, who made such profit possible, we will be forced to take to the streets every day, with blockades, tents, and remind them every single day that we will no longer work for those wages. Working conditions, salaries in the private sector, are worse than miserable, seem more like social assistance than a decent living wage. Every discussion at the table with representatives from the private sector, who present themselves as big bosses and employers, is not a social dialogue that leads to promoting workers' rights and wages, but, on the contrary, they try to curtail everything that the union has provided in the past," said Ivan Peshevski, SSM vice president.  

A blockade of the Government scheduled for next Tuesday when the Government holds its session, will be the third blockade as part of SSM's campaign. If demands are not met, SSM announced a protest that will be organized on a non-business day so many more than 21 people can take to the streets. SSM neither rules out the possibiliy of organizing a general strike. 

The unions' demands for an increase of the minimum wage and all other wages are based on the increase in the cost of living and the growth of the consumer basket.

Photo: MIA