The director of North Macedonia’s Protection and Rescue Directorate (ДЗС), Stojance Angelov, will receive a salary increase following a government decision to adjust the salary calculation coefficient. The decision, published in the Official Gazette, has drawn criticism from union representatives, who argue that while everyone deserves a raise, workers are more deserving than officials.

The president of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM), Slobodan Trendafilov, expressed his dissatisfaction, stating that salary increases seem to be disproportionately benefiting officials rather than workers. He pointed out that a 13.8% increase in an official’s salary could potentially impact inflation, similar to concerns raised about increasing workers’ salaries.

Trendafilov highlighted that the decision in the Official Gazette increases the coefficient for calculating the salary of government-elected officials from 2.24 to 2.55, aligning with the budget allocation for salary growth this year. He calculated that this change translates to a 12,784 denars (approximately 208 euros) increase in salary from June 1, resulting in a 13.8% raise.

Trendafilov questioned the fairness of prioritizing salary increases for officials when workers are also in need of higher wages. He emphasized the importance of increasing workers’ salaries and suggested that officials’ salaries should not be raised if workers’ needs are not met.