North Macedonia Trade Unions Demand Pay Rises, Threaten Institutional Blockades and General Strike 2026

Balgarianovinite.com Slobodan Trendafilov, president of the Federation of Trade Unions of North Macedonia, on Monday called on “a representative of the government” to sign a collective labour agreement that would raise the minimum wage in North Macedonia from around EUR 400 to EUR 600. Otherwise, the trade unions will move ahead with institutional blockades and a general strike, he said.
According to Trendafilov, there have been numerous attempts to sabotage the trade unions’ protest, but despite this, a large number of workers and employees took to the streets of Skopje on Wednesday.
Responding to a parliamentary question on Thursday, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that in 2025 the government had proposed increasing wages of public administration employees by nearly 40% over the period from March 2026 to March 2028, an offer that was rejected by the trade union federation.
“We are protesting for a minimum wage of EUR 600 now, not in 2028. Come back from the future, comrades, come back to reality,” Trendafilov said. He added that if blockades take place, the first institution to be blocked will be Parliament, where the wages law has still not been considered. “We will wait for them [the MPs] to greet them and remind them that they are there because of us and that they must vote. They will have to come to work by bus and on foot, just like many workers who do not receive compensation for travel expenses,” Trendafilov stressed.
On Friday, Mickoski wrote on his Facebook profile that his government had proposed raising wages of public administration employees by about 40%, but the trade union federation rejected the proposal. “As for the minimum wage, we must act in accordance with the law. The moment workers and employers reach an agreement, we will support it and implement it,” Mickoski said.
“There can be money for criminal tenders, but no money for workers. Instead of justifying why wages are not being increased, Mickoski’s government should secure funds to raise the minimum wage to EUR 600. Today, [North] Macedonia has the lowest minimum wage in the region and in Europe. The consequences are already visible: skilled workers are leaving the country en masse, young people are emigrating, and ‘economic migrants’ are being brought in,” the opposition party SDSM said in a statement, recalling that it has proposed new legislative solutions to raise the minimum wage to EUR 600 and freeze the salaries of senior officials. North Macedonia Trade Unions Demand Pay Rises, Threaten Institutional Blockades and General Strike 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-30 15:36:57 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law