Parliament session on changes to the Law on Minimum Salary

Changes to the Law on Minimum Salary on the agenda of Monday’s Parliament session aim to urge employers having financial problems with the payment of increased salaries to employees, who receive up to MKD 18,000 (EUR 292).

The financial support will be provided in period July-December, amounting to 30 percent of the difference between the gross salary of the employee during the current month and the average gross salary paid in the final three months of 2017. The maximum financial support could reach MKD 1,200 (EUR 19,5).

The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy said up to 50,000 employees and 15,000 employers could be encompassed if applying for the measure.

Recent changes to the law on minimum salary resulted in its increase to MKD 12,000 (EUR 195), which affected about 90,000 workers. However, the increase lead to equaling of salaries with those that received this amount prior to the law changes. Therefore, there is a need for financial support from the state in order to overcome this gap in companies where costs for employees exceed fifty percent of total expenditures.

The funds are allocated from the national budget, amounting to MKD 372 million (EUR 6,04 million) in 2018 and MKD 893,000 (EUR 14,500) in 2019.