3nd February 2026, Skopje - Government’s position that the General Collective Agreement required amendments was justified, as the Government has to act responsibility towards all citizens and cannot allow any wage reductions, especially for the public administration employees with the lowest wage, Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, underscored in her guest appearance on “360 Stepeni” TV Show, reiterating that the minimum wage should be agreed between the workers and the employers, as wages in the private sector are financed by the private sector, while the Government is responsible for the wages of the public administration employees.
“As a Government, we are accountable to all citizens. This issue concerns the public administration and we cannot allow some employees, especially those earning the lowest wage, to see their wage reduced. General Collective Agreement envisages wage increase, but if the proposed methodology had been applied, the highest-paid employees would have received the largest increase, while the lowest-paid wage would not only have received no increase, but some would even have faced wage reduction. In percentage terms, this could have resulted in wages being reduced by one percentage, effectively cutting part of the employees’ wage. I therefore believe that the Government’s decision at the time that the General Collective Agreement should undergo certain amendments was the right one”, the Minister of Finance stated.
As regards the minimum wage, she pointed out that the employers and the workers should negotiate directly with each other, with the Government having the role of an observer.
“It is logical for the Government to act as an observer in this process for a simple reason - wages for the private-sector employees are paid by the private sector. The Government is tasked with providing wages in the public administration and I believe it has done so successfully over the past year and a half. With respect to what the employers and the workers need to negotiate, my position, like the Government’s position, is that the dialogue should take place between them, reaching an agreement on the extent of the burden the employers can bear, since they are also responsible for paying the wages”, the Minister underlined, adding that while each worker should receive a higher wage, the economic rules will determine whether and how this can be achieved.
The Minister of Finance also highlighted the ongoing efforts to secure financing for the construction and extension of the hospitals in Shtip, Tetovo and Kichevo.
“Yes, the hospital in Kichevo is planned for construction, along with extensions of the hospitals in Tetovo and Shtip, including equipping them fully. At the end of December, we submitted requests for expression of interest in financing to the banks, and the deadline for submitting offers is next week. Once the offers are received, we will have a clearer understanding of the conditions and the next steps”, the Minister said.
She highlighted that the project envisages fully equipping the hospitals with modern medical equipment, with an estimated value of around EUR 200 million for all three institutions. The exact amount will be determined after the banks’ offers are analyzed.
During the interview, she also touched upon the execution of capital expenditures, the municipal projects, Corridors 8 and 10d, introduction of e-invoicing, etc.
