AFTER THE MAJOR WORKERS' PROTEST, BLOCKADES OF THE PARLIAMENT, OF THE EMPLOYERS, OF THE GOVERNMENT WILL FOLLOW!

After the successful implementation of one of the most massive workers' protests for an increase in workers' salaries organized by the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM), which took place on January 28th and was attended by thousands of workers and citizens, who took the streets together with SSM and demanded an immediate increase in the minimum wage to 600 euros and an increase in all other salaries by at least 6.000 denars…the second phase of trade union activities that SSM will undertake and which are aimed at increasing workers' salaries will follow, or what comes next is the phase of radicalization of the trade union activities with announced blockades.

As was said before the protest and after the large Workers' protest, which was announced as just the beginning, the next phase of activities that SSM will undertake are blockades of the biggest culprits who, over the years and for a long time have caused our workers to not be able to live, but only to try to survive as best they can, because their salaries do not follow the real costs of living. However, and especially despite all the arguments for increasing workers’ salaries that SSM presented to the Parliament, the Government and the Employers organizations, they instead of seeking real solutions that would mean fulfilling the expectations of the workers for an increase in the minimum wage and increase of all other salaries as requested by them and requested by the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, they decided to remain silent and ignore the demands of the workers, causing an even greater revolt.

“Despite the fact that thousands of workers’ took to the streets without fear and together with SSM sent the main messages and demands to the Parliament, to the Government and to the Employers’ organizations for an increase in their salaries, and they, as I have already said, are still silent, therefore what follows are blockades,” said the President of SSM, Slobodan Trendafilov.

That’s why during today's press conference, the Agenda of SSM for the next period or the so-called Second Phase of the trade union activities of SSM for increasing workers' salaries was announced, as follows:

- February 10th - Blockade of the Parliament

- February 12th - Blockade of the Employers

- February 17th - Blockade of the Government

Announcing the second phase and the next activities of SSM, Trendafilov said:

“Yesterday, the deadline that thousands of workers gave to the members of the Parliament to make quick changes to the Law on Minimum Wage which will increase the minimum wage to 600 euros, and will as well increase the remaining salaries by the difference from the increase in the minimum wage or at least by 6.000 denars, expired. The ignorant attitude shown by the members of Parliament towards the workers, or more precisely towards those who elected them to sit in the comfortable parliamentary seats and enjoy the comfortable parliamentary functions and benefits, caused us to move to the second phase of the trade union activities that we will undertake in order to increase the workers' salaries. The Presidency of SSM, which is in permanent session, after holding the session of the Council of SSM that was dedicated to the topic of organizing protests, blockades and strikes, today held another session and it was decided that: On February 10, we are blocking the Parliament, we are blocking the members of Parliament and we will prevent them from being able to charge travel expenses on that day. In the meantime and during the blockade, they will have to walk pass by the workers and explain to them why they will have the right to an increase in their salaries and the workers’ won’t, they will have to explain why they are silent and refuse to make amendments to the Law in order to reduce the salaries of the elected and appointed officials by 80%, while at the same time, they keep the Proposal of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia for increasing the minimum wage to at least 600 euros and for increasing all other salaries by at least 6,000 denars in a drawer."

In addition to the Blockade of the Assembly, during the press conference a blockade of the bosses or the employers was also announced, so on that subject Trendafilov emphasized:

"On February 12th, we will continue blocking the bosses, in front of the Chamber of Commerce, the Employers' Organization of Macedonia, the Business Confederation, the Union of Chambers of Commerce of Macedonia. Trade union representatives, activists and workers will block the bosses, just as the bosses have been blocking them for 36 years. The same bosses who keep them at work with miserable salaries, who keep them with threats against them, but we strongly believe that the time has come when the workers do have another choice, and the bosses do not. The time has passed when the bosses used to tell the workers that there were enough unemployed workers registered in the Employment Agency and that they would easily replace them, because today the Macedonian qualified workers do not stay at home, but go abroad for higher salaries."

Regarding the 3rd announced blockade or the Blockade of the Government, Trendafilov said:

"On February 17, Tuesday, we are blocking the Government... Tuesday is the day when the Government holds sessions, so that’s why we are going out to block them exactly on that day. We will block the approaches, so that no representative of the Government, starting with the Prime Minister, as well as the other ministers, can come to the session with comfortable official vehicles, with their chauffeurs. On the contrary, in order to attend it, each of them will have to walk by past the workers and with that we will force them to look us in the eye…because what we have seen from the past period is that they are ashamed to look the workers in the eye, because they are ashamed of leading the poorest country in Europe and the poorest workers in Europe."

During the press-conference it was also announced that the initiative of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia to amend and supplement the Law on Salaries and Other Remunerations of Members of Parliament in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and other elected and appointed persons and officials in the Republic of Macedonia will be submitted next week, so the President of the SSM explained:

"As I have already mentioned, we will not stop here.... So, tomorrow at 11 o'clock in the Parliament, in order to see if they are still humans and just to see if humanity will work among the members of the Parliament, we are submitting an Initiative for Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Salaries and Other Remunerations of the members in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and Other Elected and Appointed Persons and Officials in the Republic of Macedonia, with which initiative we are changing the article in which the basis for calculating the salaries of the elected and appointed persons is determined or from the previously foreseen - average salary as the basis for calculating their salaries multiplied by the complexity coefficient, we are submitting an initiative for amending this article which will mean - minimum salary as the basis for calculating their salaries multiplied by the complexity coefficient. In this way, we are giving them the opportunity to show that, in order not to enable an additional increase in inflation in Macedonia with their enormous salaries, they can reduce them by 40% only by amending this provision in the Law. In addition to this, they can also reduce the complexity coefficients by 40%, because their salaries have increased by 80% in the past two years. We hereby call on them to show to the workers to whom they are saying that the minimum wage is good and enough for a good life that they, as members of Parliament, will also live well with the minimum wage. This is the first step they can take and they can take it immediately, because the session of the Parliament is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10th. Until then, they have time on a fast track, even with a European flag, to take all actions to reduce their own salaries and the salaries of the rest officials in the country... because to date, not a single official has said that they will reduce their salaries, nor has he said that they will reduce the coefficients by 9.2%, or reduce them by as much as the Governor of the National Bank has already calculated that his own salary will increase. If they do not do so, immediately the next day or on Wednesday, as we said, we will collect 10.000 signatures and we will become an authorized proposer of Laws and we will then force them to vote FOR or AGAINST… they will vote FOR themselves or AGAINST the workers or they will vote FOR the workers and AGAINST themselves, taking into account that the signatures will be collected for amendments and supplements to two laws, i.e. one of the laws is the Law on Salaries and Other Remunerations of Members of Parliament and Other Elected and Appointed Persons and Officials in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as for the Law on Minimum Wage to increase the minimum wage to at least 600 euros and increase all other wages by at least 6.000 denars.