On Monday, members of the Independent Police Trade Union staged a protest in Skopje. Protesters adamantly called for compliance with provisions of the minimum salary legislation, in addition to demanding that court proceedings be carried out within deadlines foreseen according to the law.
“Police’s minimum salary cannot be below minimum pay in the country. We demand that the Skopje Court of Appeals unifies its court practice with that of the Court of Appeals in Bitola and Gostivar, which confirm our request”, Union members pointed out.
Protesters also complained that laws applied to police only in situations officers needed to be penalised.
“We are not second-class servants”, it was also emphasized at the protest.
Regarding the protest, the Interior Ministry stated that everyone had the right to stage a protest and that the dissatisfaction was directed at courts.
“We constantly work on advancing the standard of police officers, on advancing working conditions, and on restoring the dignity of the police profession”, the institution added.
Later that day, however, the Skopje Court of Appeals voiced a stand on the matter.
“So far, the Court hasn’t reached a verdict in which it expresses a stand on the legal matter related to the amount of the basic salary as opposed the minimum one different from other appeals courts in the country”, it said.