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By not increasing the minimum wage and not accepting the proposal, 167 thousand workers in the country who, according to the PRO, have incomes below 30 thousand denars are directly harmed, says Trendafilov
The fight to increase the minimum wage is not a fight against the Government or to close companies, but a fight for the existence of workers, says the president of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, Slobodan Trendafilov.
In an interview with Kanal 5, Trendafilov said that he is concerned that there is still no agreement on increasing the minimum wage.
"If you have 510 thousand workers in the country, compared to 60 thousand employers, who, by the way, not all of whom have a problem with paying their workers' salaries. From that point of view, we believe that by not increasing the minimum wage and not accepting the proposal, they directly harm 167 thousand workers in the country who, according to the PRO, have incomes below 30 thousand denars. That is a huge number, one third of the total number of workers in the country," Trendafilov says.
The last increase in the minimum wage in 2022, Trendafilov emphasises, was won on the streets and on behalf of the SSM, he says - "don't push us onto the streets, let's sit down and reach an agreement."
"But when you have absolutely no understanding from the other side, when some say 'you come to an agreement with the employers', and the employers say 'how can we come to an agreement with you' - that's a cycle that is detrimental to 167 thousand employees in the country,"
says the head of the SCM.
Among the arguments, Trendafilov pointed to the union basket, which according to the SCM's calculations cannot be covered by two minimum wages. The food and beverage portion for a four-member household, he adds, is equal to one minimum wage, and points out that the minimum wage in Serbia will be 500 euros from October, in Montenegro it is 600 to 800 euros, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina it is 511 euros.
Trendafilov also criticises the MPs, because according to him, if they really care about the workers, they can immediately pass amendments and supplements to the Law on Minimum Wage and apply it after the local elections.
"Since the beginning of the year "So far, we have held 14 protests and two strikes exclusively for wages. We are not immune to organising new protests and strikes. We have told all the authorities so far, both the previous and this government, but we hope that we will find understanding and through dialogue we will reach higher wages,"
Trendafilov said.
"If they continue to push us onto the streets, we will go out onto the streets, but the workers must understand that it is not possible for just three, five or seven thousand people, as many as we were at the last protest on May 1, to win an increase in the minimum wage,"
he pointed out.
There is no excuse for not increasing wages, Trendafilov said, but he emphasised that it is not possible for just three, five or seven thousand people, as many as were at the last protest on May 1, to win an increase in the minimum wage.
– We don't know what 160 thousand workers are waiting for these seven thousand to fight for them, or 509 thousand workers in total in the country to expect that 63 thousand members of the SCM will deal with both the Government and the employers on their own. There are many fronts, and support is needed from all unions and all employers, says Trendafilov.
