- Македонски
- English
On October 15, 2025, at the request of the Embassy of the Republic of France, a working meeting was held at the Workers' House of the SSM between the President of the SSM, Slobodan Trendafilov, and H.E. the Ambassador of the Republic of France, Mr. Christophe Le Rigolaire.
The working meeting discussed the current situation when it comes to the economic and social position of workers in our country, the unions and the trade union movement in general, as well as our struggle to promote workers' rights and improve labor legislation, with special emphasis on social dialogue in our country as a basis for adopting more successful future solutions, and especially solutions that will restore the dignity of the Macedonian worker and prevent his departure abroad in search of a better future.
The President of the SSM, as the President of the largest and most numerous trade union in our country and at the same time the only trade union that is representative and has its members in the public and private sectors, presented the current situation with the three very important pillars of trade union action, namely - the state of social dialogue in the country, in order to determine future steps for its advancement, the state and development of wages and the need for their increase, the trade union minimum basket as a trade union instrument that provides a basis for the development of successful social policies that will be aimed exclusively at the realization, protection and advancement of workers' rights as well as the development and always important policies of encouraging collective bargaining at all levels.
Furthermore, the challenges that trade union organizations of the SSM and trade union members face in both the public and private sectors during our 79-year existence and the continuous struggle for the rights of all workers, which should undoubtedly be the focus of the policies of all political leaders, were conveyed.
Particularly highlighted were the efforts of the SSM to continue with its intensified activities to create and ensure the existence of a trade union movement where unions have difficulty in forming their own trade union organizations, and through that to achieve an increase in the membership of the SSM in both the public and private sectors, which will undoubtedly improve our position before other social partners.
The Ambassador of the Republic of France, Mr. Christophe Le Rigolaire, expressed support for the activities of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) and announced future cooperation, especially considering that the SSM, through its branch unions and as part of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), has already established cooperation with trade union organizations coming from the Republic of France.
