At today's session of the Economic and Social Council, for the first time, for the need for harmonization of the minimum wage, the members of the Economic and Social Council from the employers and the Government with 8 against 4 votes, outvoted the unions and the workers for the amount of the harmonization of the minimum wage in accordance with the Law which is harmonized based on the following parameters:
- one third of the increase of the average paid salary in the country
- one third of the increase in the living index cost
- one third of the real growth of the gross domestic product, for the previous year, according to the data of the State Statistical Office.
Government officials and employers felt that the real increase in gross domestic product could be negative, ie, although the Law on Minimum Wage indicates the use of the term increase, but for the representatives of the MLSP, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance and employers the same as such a minus must be taken into account - although it is not written anywhere in the Law and thus the harmonization of the minimum wage after their calculations will be lower by 211.00 denars and it will be around 15,190,00 denars.
SSM believes that such adjustment of the minimum wage will damage workers for at least about 2500.00 denars per year.
Also, the request of SSM was not accepted, the minimum wage to be increased in the amount of 60% of the average wage, not less than 16,976.00 denars, especially if we know that only for treatment due to illness or isolation from Covid -19 had an increased cost of vitamins and medicines by at least 6,000 denars per month, and there are increased prices of all products, knowing that the union minimum basket for a family of four is 33,702.00 denars.
For such outvoting of workers for the harmonization of their minimum wage, and thus determining a lower amount of the minimum wage, the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia will initiate proceedings before the competent institutions and will take all legal measures.
