The union demands higher salaries for the public sector

Public administration has become a social category, union members say

The Confederation of Free Trade Unions has launched a campaign for higher salaries in the public sector “Decent pay for decent living” that will take place on social networks, visits, rallies and conferences in several cities, depending on the membership requirements.

– We will put a stop to the underestimating and ignoring the public sector that has already become a social category, stop to discrimination and political pressure in the public sector, dismissal from the position of power and employment of other people, pressures on trade union leaders, said at a press conference KSS President Blagoja Ralpovski, not excluding the activities to become radicalized syndicate actions.

As he pointed out, they will not back down from the demands for adjustment of the salaries in the public sector in accordance with the percentage of raising the minimum wage, raising the salaries in the public administration without discrimination of certain sectors in the next budget rebalance, respecting the collective agreements, especially in the part coefficient of payroll.

As a trade union, emphasizes Ralpovski, we are concerned about the pressure that our members face to join or leave the trade unions, threats to punitive measures if they are do not behave according to orders from powerful people, degradation, manipulation, psychological harassment, intrusion into trade union organizations, their taking with threats and power, unlawful stoppage of membership fees of our legal entities, seizure of documentation of trade union organizations by executives appointed by the Government.

The most rugged examples are the dismissal of several trade union leaders, including the president of KSS from the position of a civil servant, which in itself sends a message to the membership about their power, the abandonment and destruction of our syndicate and the avoidance of legal obligations.”
Answering journalist questions, Ralpovski said that the average salary in the public sector is around 18,000 denars, and that teachers, professors, kindergartens, civil servants are the most discriminated. Two months ago, they talked with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev about problems and requests but, as he pointed out, there is no improvement in the affairs.

The KSS reiterated that the request for payment of the K-15 in the public sector remains, but there is no announcement to start the negotiations on a collective agreement in the public sector and the realization of such a thing.