site.btaWorkers in Key North Macedonia Ministries Call for 30% Pay Raise, Fair Bargaining

Employees of the Ministries of Culture, Environment, European Affairs, Digital Transformation, Transport and Communications, and Economy, as well as those working in the State Statistical Office and the State Archives of North Macedonia, are holding a protest on Tuesday, calling for a 30% salary increase and the signing of a collective bargaining agreement.

The protest is set to last for half an hour and will involve approximately 3,500 to 4,000 employees, said Trade Union of Administration, Judiciary and Citizens' Associations President Trpe Deanoski.

"The number of employees we are requesting these increases for is small, and the demands are not new. The government already knows about them. All relevant ministers sent drafts of collective bargaining agreements to the Ministry of Finance before the budget was approved, and I believe there was a way to address our demands and secure the 30% increase we have been seeking for years," Deanoski told the Kanal 5 television channel. He added that these specific employees in the state administration have the lowest salaries.

Similar demands were raised, and a protest was organized last week by employees of the prosecution service in North Macedonia.