Following the success of the initial teachers’ strike, during which most teachers across Macedonia refused to hold classes on the first day of school – September 1st, the head of the SONK union Jakim Nedelkov announced a broader strike is to come if the Government doesn’t accept the union demands. Chief among the demands is the increase of teacher salaries by 25 percent, in line with the increase in the minimum wage.

A lot of teachers who do not belong to our union join in the strike. There were those who rejected the strike and held classes but those are mostly not union members. To be honest, we didn’t see the type of pressures we expected to see today, as we expected that school principals and municipal leaders will pressure teachers to hold classes, Nedelkov said.

As Zaev’s Government rejects the SONK wage increase request, Nedelkov said that the union is looking at several options, including an all out strike. Other options include road blocks in downtown Skopje and on highway paytoll booths. Nedelkov points to the fact that Macedonia ranks among the lowest in the region in teacher salaries as justification for the strike.