- Македонски
- English
The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) maintains its position that not only the minimum wage, but also wages in general in Macedonia should be increased.
As stated by the President of CSM, Slobodan Trendafilov, before the start of a conference on the topic: "Productivity and its main drivers of economic growth and competitiveness", Macedonia is one of the countries in the region with the lowest average and minimum wage.
– Workers in Macedonia are the lowest paid in the Balkans, let alone Europe. Unfortunately, we are one of the countries in the region with the lowest average and minimum wages. We do not see any sign from the other side, from the Government or employers, to make any serious step forward, although we heard that in Serbia from October 1st the minimum wage will be 500 euros, as much as the SCM demands in Macedonia, and from January 1st it will be 550 euros. Even with a higher salary than what we demand, workers, unfortunately, are leaving the country, but not only because of the salaries, but also dissatisfied with the conditions in which we live, emphasised the President of the SSM, Trendafilov.
He noted that productivity should be targeted through only one thing: increasing wages.
– Our workers in Montenegro, Slovenia, Germany, Serbia, Croatia, Austria are productive because wages there are three to four times higher than ours – said Trendafilov, adding that if employers plan not to pay workers as they do today, they cannot expect an increase in productivity.
The Employers’ Organisation of Macedonia marked its twentieth anniversary with a National Conference on the topic: “Productivity and its Main Drivers for Economic Growth and Competitiveness”.
