Macedonia’s Deputy Minister of Economy and LaborMarjanRisteski, in an interview with the regional TV Newsmax Balkans, clearly states that the Government is not against increasing the minimum wage, but on the contrary – its strategic goal is the continuous growth of all wages and improvement of the standard of living, but exclusively through systemic, agreed and economically sustainable solutions.
The deputy minister says that now the problem with the minimum wage should be resolved by agreement within the framework of the Economic and Social Council (ESC).
“Currently, the minimum wage is regulated by a systemic solution adopted by the ESC and with the support of the SSM, according to a formula adopted several years ago. At that time, this solution was presented as a great victory and the final introduction of a systemic solution for determining and increasing the minimum wage, without administrative and political interference in its creation. Today, the same SSM has a completely different narrative and position on this agreement, which then brought a minimal increase at a time when we had extremely high inflation, and in a time of a stabilized economy and inflation of 4 percent, they are demanding an increase in the minimum wage outside this legal formula by 50 percent,”Risteskinoted.
The deputy minister adds that flat-rate comparisons with other countries can give a distorted picture of the situation because each economy is different and has its own characteristics.
