Skopje, 10 February 2026 (MIA) - The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) said it will block access to Parliament at 9 am on Tuesday, beginning blockades of institutions that it claims are preventing an increase of the minimum wage. The streets near the Parliament building will be blocked.

SSM stated that the blockade is intended to send a message to Members of Parliament that they have been obstructing the adoption of the law on increasing the minimum wage for more than a year and that they are unwilling to accept the union’s initiative to reduce officials’ salaries.

“Members of Parliament continue to ignore SSM’s initiative to increase the minimum wage and all other wages by €100 as well as the latest proposal to reduce their salaries by 80 percent, meaning to lower the salary calculation base from the average wage to minimum wage and to reduce their complexity coefficients,” SSM President Slobodan Trendafilov said on Monday.

The Parliament on Tuesday will resume work despite the scheduled protest of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) at 9 am, said Speaker Afrim Gashi. He told Monday's press briefing he expects a peaceful protest, adding that there will be no additional security at the building of the Parliament.

"We discussed the protest at today's coordination with parliamentary groups. We agreed that all coordinators will talk to the MPs to find a way to attend the session, without interfering with the citizens' right to protest. We need to resume work, while safeguarding the right to protest. There will be no special security at the Parliament building. The Ministry of Interior is taking all necessary measures. I hope that everything will be peaceful and under control. They will hold a protest, we will work," Gashi told reporters.

On whether the MPs are willing to meet the workers' demands for EUR 600 minimum wage and a linear increase of Mden 6,000 (EUR 97) for all other wages, Gashi said each political party will take its own position.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski reiterated his position on Sunday that the minimum wage will be increased in accordance with the law and that the government considers unacceptable the proposal for the state to temporarily finance employers’ contributions so that they may increase the minimum wage.

“Our position on the minimum wage is clear: yes, it will be increased in line with the legal provisions, and should employers and employees reach an agreement, we will support and welcome it. However, in that case, we would also have to align the existing agreement with these two branches, because under the current methodology the adjustment to the minimum wage would be excessively high, and the necessary funds are not available in the Budget,” Mickoski said. He also announced that the coefficients for officials’ salaries will be adjusted in accordance with the law by the end of February.

The minimum wage is a sensitive issue and that is why there are no decisions being made under pressure or short-term political solutions, said Minister of Labor and Economy Besar Durmishi in a TV interview on Monday evening.

In an interview with TV Telma, Durmishi said the Government is waiting on data from the State Statistical Office, noting that wages will be adjusted by Mden 1500-2000 in March in accordance with the law.

The Minister said the dialogue with public sector employees has been concluded, noting that the Government reached an agreement on Sunday with some of the representative unions to raise the wages of 11.000 administrative workers, after having previously done the same with wages in healthcare, education, defense, and police. sk/nn/ad/

Photo: MIA archive