- Македонски
- English
08/31/2012
Correction in the price of electricity and cheap tariff which should start at 19:00, reviewing the work of the President of the Energy Regulatory Commission, subsidizing transport costs of enterprises and of the transport companies and adopting further measures against energy poverty – these were the requirements of today's press conference outlined by the President of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia Zivko Mitrevski PhD.
After the public pointing of CCM on several occasions, we feel the need to inform about CCM activities concerning the rise of prices, explained Mitreski. We are witnessing the severity of consequences of the global economic and debt crisis. CCM monitors prices situation and together with the social partners actively intervenes on mitigating the consequences on the citizens’ living standard. Life is not a mathematical formula that can be expressed in numbers and therefore all social partners are entitled to fight to protect citizens' standard. We welcome the Government's decision to lower the price of firewood and we believe that they should continue to intervene in the same direction with the prices of other energies.
President Mitrevski presented brief overview of CCM platform of the past two years.
CCM was the first Trade union in the region and beyond to determine the general strategy and to propose concrete measures for dealing with the crisis. The measures were sent to the Government and the Prime Minister on July 6, 2010. CCM’s Platform is focused on 3 segments – economy, measures against unemployment and development of social dialogue. It also identifies measures for protection of living standards and energy poverty.
With this step, CCM provided with measures for more political structures and other associations and unions. A number of measures of the strategy were implemented, especially for the category of socially vulnerable citizens.
These measures are still in operation and CCM is continuously affirming them at all levels. Additional measures were proposed by CCM and presented and explained at the last meeting with the Prime Minister of the Government in February 2012, for which additional platform was submitted. CCM was the first that requested changes in the operation mode of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
After the latest wave of price increases of August 7, 2012, CCM reacted immediately and submitted written appeals to the Government, Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy, after which appropriate statement followed.
The next standpoint of CCM on the high prices of energy was brought on August 21, 2012. In the statement, we expressed again our views and requirements for transparent approach during Regulatory Commission decision-making. Given the importance of policy rates as one of the fundamental values included in the Agreement for the establishment of the Economic and Social Council, CCM requirements were aimed at convening a session of this body and consideration of proposals for energy price increase by the Regulatory Commission.
On August 22, at the meeting with the Minister of Labour and Social Policy and on request of the President of CCM, measures proposed by CCM on rising costs of energy, and especially on the energy poverty were considered. It is known that soon after, the Government made a proposal to reduce the price of firewood, also with additional benefits for socially endangered workers and citizens.
This is just a reminder of the continuous approach of CCM to these issues. CCM acts in accordance with its Statute and Program and hence is completely unacceptable any type of imposition of other strategies and pressures made by certain political structures, associations and NGOs who want to involve CCM in certain scenarios.
Based on these determinations, all actions and reactions must be due to the respect for our trade union members’ interests, including those unions representing members belonging to the institutions being involved in the process of rising prices of energy and other products.
CCM remains one of the essential factors, and not only on the trade union scene, but even wider, by its considerations that output solutions should be found with the joint struggle of all social partners and with mutual respect of the common interests directed towards negative reflections of the crisis, explain Mitrevski.
