Skopje, 18 February 2026 (MIA) - We can help employers and workers reach a compromise, but we can’t impose solutions, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski quizzed on Wednesday about union demands for the minimum wage to be raised to EUR 600.

In answer to a journalist’s question, Mickoski said the Government is encouraging the bipartite dialogue, reiterating that the minimum wage will increase in accordance with the law.

“The Government is not the one that accepts these demands, because the Government, as an employer, has regulated these issues with 98-99 percent of the total number of public institution workers. We have an agreement until 2028. We have concluded that process. We cannot suggest how private companies should regulate their relations with their workers. That’s why we say we can help with the process, facilitate it. I think we will have a meeting of the Economic and Social Council now at the beginning of March and we can help the employers and workers find a compromise, but we can’t impose solutions because you could see where that took us in the past and with what kinds of challenges we have to deal with as a Government now because of some unfortunate policies of some previous Government,” Mickoski said. 

Photo: MIA