North Macedonia Defense Ministry to implement new collective agreement and pay raises

North Macedonia’s Minister of Defense, Vlado Misaillovski, has announced that a new collective agreement for the Army is forthcoming, which will include salary increases. Following discussions with unions representing 99.9 percent of Ministry of Defense and Army employees, officials are working to improve approximately 20 articles within the agreement.

Misaillovski stated that an agreement has been reached with the Minister of Finance to secure the necessary funds for these raises, which will require a budget revision. The Minister noted that the move aims to reduce legal disputes; he reported that over 26 million euros have been paid from the budget for lawsuits over the past two years due to previous labor issues.

The announcement was made during a joint press conference alongside Major General Sashko Lafçiski, Chief of the General Staff. Misaillovski expressed his goal of making the Ministry of Defense and the Army the best institutions through these improvements, increased capital investments, and higher wages.