Minister of Economy and Labor Besar Durmishi said the government and the ministry he heads are ready to engage in dialogue with social partners on revising the minimum wage formula, how it is calculated in relation to the average wage, and new collective agreements.

According to him, every decision must be based on real economic indicators. Durmishi announced that the minimum wage level and the current calculation formula will soon be discussed with social partners within the Economic and Social Council.

“At one of the Economic and Social Council meetings this year, this issue will certainly be put on the table for discussion. Let us agree on the collective agreement. There are certain institutions where a department head receives a higher salary than a minister, or more than someone else who works much harder. When we review these demands, they clash with one another. Let us sit down and change the formula for calculating the minimum wage,” Durmishi said.

The minister was responding to warnings of union pressure over the minimum wage, ahead of the regular legal adjustment expected to take place in March next year.

During his statement, Durmishi also spoke about the implementation of the measures set out in the reform agenda. He said the Ministry of Economy and Labor has so far completed five key steps, for which the country is expected to receive around €20 million from the European Union once official confirmation is obtained.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia is demanding that the minimum wage reach €600. The opposition party SDSM has made the same demand, announcing that it will submit a new legislative proposal on the minimum wage.

The formula currently in force sets the minimum wage based on 50 percent of the cost of living and 50 percent of the increase in the average wage. Of the approximately 750,000 people employed in the country, around 30,000 receive the minimum wage.

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Venko Filipçe, leader of SDSM, announced at a press conference that his party would once again submit to Parliament the bill seeking to raise the minimum wage to €600.

According to Filipçe, the initiative will be submitted at the beginning of September, immediately after Parliament resumes its work. He said the current minimum wage is not enough to cover citizens’ basic expenses.

“Citizens cannot be deceived. The figures cited by the prime minister, clearly from a world in which only he and his small group live, are not what citizens experience. They see empty wallets and empty refrigerators,” Filipçe declared.

The leader of SDSM stressed that, if the economic indicators are truly as favorable as the government claims, then one of the first steps should be to set the minimum wage at €600.

“Not 26,000 denars as it is now, but as much as people need to cover their basic needs and basic expenses, especially when the school year begins and living costs rise sharply,” Filipçe said.

He also announced that an increase in wages in several sectors would be demanded, with particular emphasis on healthcare and education. Filipçe cited measures implemented, according to him, during the previous government led by SDSM, when the base salaries of specialists and doctors rose by 40 percent, while the wages of education employees also increased.

Filipçe said that wage increases are essential in the face of rising living costs and that, through these demands, the party is presenting its position on the economic policies of the current government.

“The government led by Hristijan Mickoski has already begun its third year in office, and we see no results in any area. We see no results in the economy, healthcare, education or agriculture,” said the leader of SDSM.

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