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THEY WANT TO TAKE THE BUILDING OF WORKERS’ UNIONS OR THE WORKERS’ HOME IN A CRIMINAL WAY!
On 24.01.2024, the president of The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia Mr. Slobodan Trendafilov held a press conference in front of the media representatives, whereas the main subject was the fate of The Building of Workers’ Unions or known as The Workers’ Home by publicly revealing the course of the judicial procedure against The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia and the scandalous judicial decision of The Supreme Court of The Republic of North Macedonia to confiscate the building owned by the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia.
“That building survived the 1963 earthquake in Skopje, without a doubt it will survive the corrupt elites and judges today!”
President Trendafilov started the press by saying that the judges who were in diapers when The Building of Workers’ Unions or known as The Workers’ Home was being built, now decided to take it away from The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia and its members – the workers.
“The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, which since 1946 acts not only as the only representative union in the country, but as a representative organization for all workers, is today facing the biggest attack of its existence, with the sole aim of its complete destruction” said the president of The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia.
He pointed out that the Federation had received unofficial information that The Supreme Court of The Republic of North Macedonia issued a verdict to confiscate The Building of Workers’ Unions or known as The Workers’ Home.
“All this because of everything that was done in the past and especially last few months in which The Federation wasn’t at all silent in its fight for the workers’ rights and fights for increasing their salaries by organizing protests and strikes and by taking loud corrective actions towards the policies of the ones in power or the elected authorities and judges, actions that made the state apparatus many times to be publicly called on and criticized by the citizens of the country. This was clearly seen as a threat, so a decision to discipline the labor movement in The Republic of North Mаcedonia by punishing and silencing The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia’s work and damaging its stability as the only representative trade union was made”, emphasized Trendafilov.
"We received unofficial information, which we still don't want to believe, that the Supreme Court passed some kind of verdict to confiscate the Workers' Home, a home that was built with workers' funds in 1958. According to the entire documentation which is at our disposal, at that time 427.968,16 dinars were invested, monetary assets that nowadays have the value of more than 8 million dollars. In conclusion this building was built from the membership fees from our members-the workers’, or was built with funds that came directly from the workers' wages," said Trendafilov.
It was stated that The Supreme Court, with intention and bearing in mind that it is the highest judicial instance in the country, whose decision cannot be disputed by domestic law and legislation, but only by being forced to ask for justice outside the country through international judicial proceedings, now made a decision which annuls all proceedings that were initiated since 1992 by the then governments, state authorities and state attorneys. More than 15 court and administrative decisions were made, many administrative proceedings and administrative disputes have ended over the year’s, six of those court decisions were made in the last judicial procedure that started in 2005 and all of them are in favor of the The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia. Today The Supreme Court ruled a decision with a very poor legal explanation rather than an explanation based on facts and evidences, that not only abolishes but reverses all the past ones and which is made by assumption that the trade unions in the past system in Yugoslavia were not able to have their own funds and in continuation they were as well not able to have their own properties. In conclusion a status of social property or characterization as an asset built in the name of the common interest was given to the building by The supreme court judges, something totally against The Constitution of The Republic of North Macedonia, against The Law on Ownership and Other Real Estate Rights, against the article 1 – or Protection of Property from the Protocol 1 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
“We fought and managed to save the workers’ property, to save their home, but apparently there is an attempt of ending all that thanks to a corrupt Supreme Court that makes decisions as a result of a policy of prioritizing the interests of the oligarchy and those in power, rather than the interests of ordinary workers and citizens. Furthermore, we are completely sure that as the Workers’ Home managed to survive the catastrophic earthquake in 1963 in Skopje, it will survive this non-legal attempt of its destruction by the highest court of our country. As a result of all this happening, only time will tell if The Supreme Court of The Republic of North Macedonia will be able to survive the anger and rage of all workers’, citizens and The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia” accentuates Trendafilov.
To make the situation more serious and as a proof that this proceeding was fully influenced lies the fact that the now president of The Supreme Court of The Republic of North Macedonia in the past worked as a deputy state attorney and was one of the people who in the name of the state initiated the civil proceeding before the Basic Civil Court in Skopje as a first-instant court. That proceeding ended in favor of The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, so now it’s clear that what the president of The Supreme Court wasn’t able to do then as a deputy state attorney or to take The Workers’ Home from The Federation, is trying to finish it today because of its higher position and power in the society.
The president finished the press by emphasizing that they will not only call out the judges involved for their accountability but a resignation procedure for all Supreme Court judges involved in this process will be initiated before The Judicial Council of The Republic of North Macedonia.
“Today we as The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia together with all associated trade unions have decided to ask for the resignation of everyone involved in the process. It’s sad and hard to explain that today in the 21st century and in a country that has the integrations in the European Union as number one priority in the foreign policy is now a sole shameful example of having a Supreme Court that uses the same fascist methods as Hitler used in 1933 in order to first steal the property of the trade unions and thereby completely destroy all labor movements”, said Trendafilov.
