The state will pay only contributions to the employees in education and kindergartens who are on strike, said the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Jovana Trencevska. She stressed that this does not mean pressure on them to end the strike, but only respect for the law and the Collective Agreement.

This is not about pressure or any kind of blackmail, but about respecting the laws and the Collective Agreement. The Collective Agreement for Child Protection for the kindergartens that are under the jurisdiction of the Labor Ministry, clearly defines what should be done in case of a strike and what the employer is obliged to do. The same is defined in the Law on Labor Relations which states that in conditions of strike the employer is obliged to pay contributions to all those workers who strike on the lowest basis for payment of contributions. The next article – 241 gives the opportunity to SONK to provide payment of net salary for all those workers who are on strike. Therefore, I think that it is only a matter of respecting the laws, and not any pressure or blackmail by the Labor Ministry on the employees in the kindergartens who are on strike, said Trencevska.