Employees in North Macedonia’s culture sector are currently without pay, prompting the Culture Union to announce a protest. This situation arises from disputes over the alignment of salaries with the minimum wage and a previously granted 10% public sector increase.

The Culture Union reports that despite legal entitlements, cultural employees have faced challenges since March 2021 regarding salary adjustments. The union contends that the state and institutions are questioning either the alignment of wages with the minimum wage, as stipulated in the collective agreement for culture, or the 10% increase provided to the public sector two years prior.

According to the Culture Union, there have been attempts to undermine the value of cultural workers’ contributions and manipulate salary amounts.

The Union says that after announcing a protest for April 11, the Ministry of Culture indicated on April 10 that salaries would be processed according to regulations.

The Union says that they cancelled the protest. However, salaries have not been paid by the legally mandated deadlines, and they add that there has been no official explanation for the delay.

The Culture Union has scheduled a protest Council for April 22 in front of the Ministry of Culture. They also plan to take further action, including filing criminal charges against directors for non-compliance with collective agreements, pursuing individual lawsuits against institutions for non-payment and delayed payments, informing foreign embassies about the violation of labor rights, and seeking support from international unions.

The Culture Union expressed disappointment with Minister of Culture Zoran Ljutkov, a former union member, whom they accuse of suppressing the rights of cultural employees.