site.btaMay Day Protest in Skopje Organized by Federation of Trade Unions of North Macedonia
With a protest under the slogan "We fight for wages, we don't beg", the Federation of Trade Unions of North Macedonia marked International Workers' Day.
Representatives of various trade union organizations and workers gathered in Skopje and marched through the streets of the capital to the country’s parliament and the government building.
"We are not here today so they can hear what they want to hear, that wages are good, that collective bargaining agreements are being honoured, that overtime is being paid. Unfortunately, that is not the reality in North Macedonia. Today, we came to tell them that, according to their own data, according to data from the Public Revenue Office, half of the working people in North Macedonia live on a salary of less than EUR 600. Today, we came to tell them that one-third of the total number of working people in North Macedonia live below the poverty line. Today, we came to tell them that what they are doing is not enough," Slobodan Trendafilov, President of the Federation of Trade Unions, told the protesters.
The protesters’ demands include raising the country’s minimum wage to EUR 600 euros (from the current level of around EUR 400), the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements, and decent working conditions.
The Independent Trade Union for Education, Science, and Culture did not participate in the protest. Instead, it organized a conference titled "Labour Policies and Collective Bargaining Agreements: Legal Framework, Implementation, and Challenges," which prompted the President of the Federation of Trade Unions to declare that there are "quasi-trade unions" in the country who believe there should be no protests, and that May Day is for "luxury in an expensive hotel, at an expensive conference".
The day is a public holiday in North Macedonia, and according to media reports, the three-day weekend and the new European regulation on entry and exit to and from EU countries have caused serious traffic jams at the border crossings with Greece. According to information from the Interior Ministry, 14,000 passengers crossed through the Bogorodica border crossing near Gevgelija in North Macedonia and the Evzoni border crossing in Greece over a 24-hour period.
/RD/
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