The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is currently working on amending and supplementing the Law on Protection from Harassment at the Workplace, which has the goal for workers to be more encouraged of reporting mobbing at the workplace, stated Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovanka Trencevska, reports MIA news agency.

-We are working on amendments and supplements to strengthen the protective mechanism of workers. The current solution does not offer greater protection. Because of this aspect, we are working on changing this legal solution. Currently, the established Commission for Protection Against Discrimination has the opportunity to act in case mobbing is reported. The Commission has the competence and opportunity to investigate, to come to findings that will be in favor of one or the other side, said Minister Trencevska in an interview for Alsat TV.

Trencevska, as the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy announced, also pointed out that the Government is continuously taking specific steps for establishing a comprehensive and efficient system for prevention and protection from violence against women and domestic violence.

-The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy keeps aggregate data on victims of domestic violence. From January until September, 863 victims were women, 215 were men and 153 were children. In most cases, the perpetrators are men. Our intention is by the end of our term to establish counseling and protection centers in almost all cities. With the budget for this year, we plan to open five more counseling centers in Kicevo, Gostivar and in Kumanovo. Now there are 13 centers for victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence (shelters/crisis centers). Eight of them are established by the MLSP. Some of the other services are financed by the MLSP, and are managed by civil society organizations. In addition, we have 10 counseling centers for women victims of violence and domestic violence, of which eight are of the MLSP, one is financed by our Ministry and is managed by a civil society organization, and we have one more that is financed by the local community. As a Ministry, we have also established nine counseling centers for psychosocial treatment of perpetrators of domestic violence and three more crisis centers for victims of sexual violence, said Trencevska.

Trencevska pointed out that the main goal of these centers is to protect the victims and to enable them to find jobs, existence and to continue to live a non-dependent, peaceful, independent life.

Translation: N. Cvetkovska