The government has approved a new solution for professional soldiers who turn 45, giving them the option of choosing whether they want to continue serving in the Army as civilian personnel. To this end, their employment contracts will be changed from fixed-term to indefinite-term, Defence Minister Vllado Misajllovski announced after today’s government meeting. The solution was agreed and harmonized with the Army and the soldiers’ trade unions.
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According to Misajllovski, the reform provides professional soldiers with greater security for their future after the age of 45. Existing options will remain in force, including compensation equal to two average salaries or transfer to another state institution, while the new alternative allows them to remain in the Army as civilian personnel.
The minister described this as an entirely new solution that is not part of the Collective Agreement. Negotiations on the agreement are still under way, and it is expected to be signed soon.
Misajllovski also announced that other reforms are continuing. He said that an agreement had been reached on several additional measures during a meeting with the finance minister, and announced that salaries could also be increased in the near future. According to him, good news is expected both for the Army and for Macedonian citizens.
Army Chief of the General Staff Lafçiski welcomed the decision as an important development for professional soldiers, recalling that the issue had remained unresolved for more than 15 years.
Lafçiski explained that securing property and personnel at Army barracks and garrisons throughout the country is currently the responsibility of the commands and units operating at those facilities. According to him, this task is usually secondary or tertiary and represents an additional burden for the units alongside their primary missions. Under the new solution, this responsibility will be entrusted to professional soldiers who choose to transform their employment relationship.
He assessed that these soldiers are the most suitable personnel for the task and guaranteed that their monthly income, together with all salary supplements, would not change. They will also be able to retire under the same conditions that apply to other members, in accordance with the Law on Service in the Army and the Collective Agreement.
It is expected that around 100 soldiers will use this opportunity starting next year. Lafçiski said the Army’s structure would be adapted to include every soldier who wishes to remain, regardless of the number of applicants.
He explained that if, over the next five years, 500 professional soldiers meet the requirement and all express a desire to continue serving, this will be made possible through the organizational structure. Once they turn 45, their employment relationship may be transformed as early as the following day, and they may be assigned to the relevant unit, even continuing to work in the same barracks where they had served until then.
Asked about the protest announced by the Independent Trade Union for November 7, Misajllovski said that protesting is a democratic right. However, he stressed that the trade unions standing opposite him, in his view, represent 99.9 percent of employees in the Ministry of Defence and the Army.
The minister said that the trade union in question had, from the very first day, spread hatred, negativity, lies and manipulation, particularly against him, but added that this was part of politics and democracy. He said his priority remained resolving the issues raised by the trade unions, employees and soldiers. According to Misajllovski, this trade union had never presented a concrete solution and had refused to negotiate, instead raising in the media problems that had not been resolved for 35 years. He added that the measures he had made public were being implemented.
