"Increasing the minimum wage to 600 euros is not a whim, but a demand for social normality, and without this legal intervention, this normality can only be a political privilege. When we say 600 euros minimum wage, we are not saying that the state should continue to be a passive observer and that things in the economy move by inertia. We demand that the wage increase, and that the Government take responsibility," said SDSM MP Fatmir Bytyqi, in today's debate in the committee in Parliament on the draft law on increasing the minimum wage.
Bytyqi harshly criticized the government for deepening poverty, weak price controls, and the lack of genuine social dialogue around the minimum wage of 600 euros. He warned that rising costs directly eroded citizens' purchasing power.
"This dynamic simply shows us that purchasing power is being eaten from within, that is, there is a pronounced tendency for poverty to be systematically tolerated. Under these conditions, the Government has no right to talk about sustainability when the topic of wages is raised, while remaining silent about its own institutional failures that are directly choking the economy," Bytyqi explained.
He stressed that instead of taking responsibility, the Government is shifting the burden onto workers and unions.
"We face a series of institutional weaknesses that are bringing the economy to its knees, and then the Government is teaching workers and companies a lesson in reaching an agreement, sending a message that there is no room for good wages on its part," said the SDSM MP.
