Stojko Ramov has been elected as the new president of the Independent Trade Union for Education, Science, and Culture of Macedonia (SONK) during the union’s 8th regular Congress held today. As priorities for the coming period, Ramov highlighted the signing of a collective agreement for the child protection sector and a new collective agreement for the culture sector, with the aim of improving the socio-economic status of employees.
“I will advocate for restoring the dignity of education workers and securing the place they deserve within this society. In the period ahead, a collective agreement for child protection and a new collective agreement for culture need to be signed, so there is a lot of work ahead of us. I hope to find understanding among our social partners, which will enable us to improve the socio-economic status of education workers throughout Macedonia,” said Ramov.
Regarding the timeline for realizing these goals, he noted that reaching an agreement depends on both parties involved in the negotiations.
“These are negotiations, and not everything depends solely on SONK; it also depends on the other side. Therefore, we must find a mutually acceptable solution in order to reach an agreement,” said Ramov.
The incumbent president of SONK, Jakim Nedelkov, indicated at the Congress that, in addition to reviewing the results of the past five-year period, changes in the leadership are also expected. He added that approximately 270 delegates from across the country are attending the Congress.