Labour and Welfare Minister Jovanka Trencevska denied reports that the Government is preparing to handle the exploding budget deficit by firing public sector workers.

The reports spread after the Government held a meeting of its Economic Council, during which, as Trencevska acknowledged, one of the proposals was to “rationalize and optimize the public sector, through a functional analysis that will determine whether an institution has a lack or surplus of employees”. According to the Minister, this will not lead to firings.

Another move is to have up to 30 percent of employees sent to work from home, but without the feared pay cuts. This would help reduce electricity and heating costs for the public institutions.