SkopjeDiem Macedonia in English
Hands holding protest signs. Workers going on Strike
Education Minister Jeton Shaqiri held a meeting on Wednesday with representatives of the Education Trade Union headed by their President Jakim Nedelkov in order to discuss eventual halt of their strike and agreement for their demands for increase of their salaries. Before the meeting, Shaqiri said that, if necessary, the Education Ministry can allocate funds from its annual budget in order to contribute to the increase of the salaries of the teachers, if that would end the strike and return the children back to school. “I call upon the trade unions to change this manner of voicing dissatisfaction and give a chance to the dialogue. Our children and their education should be a priority for us, especially now, after they’ve missed so much because of the COVID-19 pandemic which forced them to follow lessons in rather difficult conditions,” Shaqiri said at the meeting, announcing that the school year will be prolonged in accordance with the duration of the strike. After the meeting, Nedelkov told reporters that the Education Trade Union shall continue with the strike, since they reached no agreement about the salaries with Minister Shaqiri.
