About 80,000 minimum wage workers in North Macedonia will be receiving higher paychecks starting in April, after their monthly salaries were raised by 2,800 denars to reach the new national minimum of Mden 18,000 [EUR 292] per month, MIA informs.

According to the government in a press release, changes were also made to the method for calculating the minimum wage.

Going forward, the national minimum wage cannot be lower than 57 percent of the average wage and needs to correspond with 50 percent of the annual growth of the average wage and 50 percent of the cost of living. The minimum wage increase was agreed on Feb. 7 at a session of the Economic and Social Council after several days of negotiations.

The state will support the increase. It will cover the difference in the employers’ pension and health insurance contributions for their employees through the end of the year. EUR 16 million was allocated from the national budget for this purpose. “The state will be subsidizing the contributions, which makes the process easier for all stakeholders. The government cares about the citizens’ living standard and is committed to mitigating the consequences of the biggest global crisis since World War II,” the release says. The release also points out that between 2012 and 2016, the minimum wage had increased 25.2 percent. By contrast, it was raised 78.6 percent between 2016 and 2022. The government expects that the higher minimum wage will prompt other salaries to rise, as well.

“From now on, raising the minimum wage will be possible without additional interventions,” the release notes, adding that the state expects the minimum wage to go up again soon. Some unions have been demanding that other wages be adjusted to the newly raised minimum wage. The Confederation of Free Trade Unions staged a protest on Wednesday, and the Union of Education, Science and Culture announced a general strike on April 11.