Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced that he is going ahead with his plan to reduce the public administration by pushing public sector employees into the private sector.

Zaev made the announcement during a rally in Gevgelija, ahead of the presidential elections, where the votes of the public administration are often crucial for the outcome. The announcement is a clear message to the public sector employees to behave unless they want to risk their often comfortable and secure jobs.

There were initially 180.000 public sector employees. There was a political crisis, the Parliament was inoperable after the elections, the future Prime Minister was not given a mandate, and this created a situation where the administration was reduced so when I became Prime Minister there were 165.000 of them. Right now there are between 148 and 149 thousand. It is being filled in the necessary positions but efforts are made to reduce it. For the future, we are developing plans to motivate the citizens in the public administration, to accept better paid and prospective jobs in the private sector, on their own volition and conviction, said Zaev.

Zaev said that the reduction of the public sector will be a tool to normalize the political perspectives of the country.