- Македонски
- English
Representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) are taking part in the conference "Strengthening Social Dialogue and Industrial Relations in the Candidate Countries for European Union Membership."
The conference brings together representatives of the social partners from Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania. SSM is represented by its President, Slobodan Trendafilov; the SSM Vice President for the public sector and President of UPOZ, Trpe Deanoski; and the SSM Vice President for the private sector and President of SGIP, Ivan Peshevski.
During the discussions, SSM representatives informed the representatives of the European Trade Union Confederation and of BusinessEurope about the state of social dialogue in Macedonia, pointing out that it is increasingly reduced to a formality, without real substance and without meaningful inclusion of trade unions in the processes of policy-making and decision-making that directly affect workers.
Particular emphasis was placed on the practice of adopting new laws and amending existing legal provisions without prior substantive discussion and consultation with the National Economic and Social Council, which undermines the role of social dialogue and limits the unions' ability to represent workers' interests in a timely manner.
SSM representatives also informed participants about the pressures and attacks on trade unions because of their advocacy for increasing the minimum wage and improving workers' living standards.
The need for respect of trade union rights was stressed, as well as for freedom of trade union organizing, and the right of unions to independently represent workers' interests, without pressure or attempts to silence them.
SSM stressed that genuine social dialogue means timely consultations, respect for the positions of the social partners, and a real possibility for their proposals to influence the final legal solutions. Social dialogue must not be merely a formal fulfilment of procedure, but a mechanism through which better workers' rights, higher wages and greater social justice are secured.
The conference is organized within the cooperation of the European social partners — the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), BusinessEurope, SMEunited and SGI Europe — and aims to strengthen the capacities of the social partners and improve social dialogue in EU candidate countries.
