ONE MINIMUM WAGE AND ONE AVERAGE WAGE ARE NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE UNION MINIMUM BASKET

The value of the union minimum basket including inflation (costs of living) for the month of July is MKD 47,042.00 and it cannot be covered even by families with two employees who receive income equal to the average salary and one minimum salary.

At the same time, bearing in mind that inflation of 16% devalues ​​the value of salaries and from here the amount of 18,000 denars, which is the minimum wage in Macedonia, has a real value of 15,120 denars, and the amount of the average net salary of 31,525 denars has a real value of 26,481 denars which significantly impoverished the Macedonian worker and citizen.

It is alarming that the wrong government measures and policies in just 5 months from the increase of the minimum wage to 18,000 denars, again returned the value of the same to the level before March 2022, i.e. with one minimum wage workers can afford only bread and water ( food and drinks) according to the Union minimum basket which as an expense for the month of July 2022 amounted to 17,842 denars or the Government in the month of March under the pressure of the SSM took 1 step forward towards improving the standard of the most vulnerable category of workers, and in July according to its own conviction and not accepting the proposals of the SSM, took 5 steps back to endangering the livelihood of workers with the lowest incomes.

If the Government had accepted the demands of the workers and the SSM for harmonizing wages in accordance with the increase of the minimum wage by 2.806 denars back in May, the inflation that devalues ​​wages would have been amortized today, but unfortunately due to the bad policies of the Ministry of Finance and Minister Besimi, and which the workers are against, and the employers and the expert public are already against, he leaves the workers, businesses, and citizens of Macedonia on the brink of existence.

The workers need immediate wage adjustments to cushion the inflationary blow, and that means the Government must adjust wages by 18.4% by September in accordance with the Law, otherwise, as the government punishes the workers, so the workers will punish the Government. and the same applies to employers.