Elderly people in Skopje - © Sarnia/Shutterstock
With rising food, energy and rent prices, living in North Macedonia on an often minimal pension has become increasingly difficult. This is why since last summer more and more pensioners have taken to the streets to protest
Throughout the summer and autumn, in the major cities of North Macedonia pensioners have repeatedly gathered in the streets to demand higher pensions due to high inflation and drastic increases in the price of food and medicines.
To live or to survive?
Although statistically the average pension is currently 20,000 denars (325 Euros), almost 60% of pensioners receive from 12,000 to 20,000, according to data from the Fund for pensions. At the beginning of the summer, pensioners began to gather in local clubs where associations of pensioners operate, talking about their plight – low pensions make it harder for them to buy food and medicines, since prices have increased constantly over the year.
Eventually they started protesting in front of the municipal buildings and in the main city squares. They also blocked the traffic in order to send a message to the authorities.
First, they asked for a linear increase in pensions of 3,500 denars (56 Euros) and a minimum pension of 18,000 (292 Euros). Since during the summer food prices continued to rise, this fall they asked for a more substantial increase of 5,000 denars (61 Euros) for all pensioners, and 20,000 (325 Euros) to be the minimum allowance.
Protesters also demand for the Law on Pension and Insurance to be changed and for women older than 62 and men older than 64 to receive free medical treatment.
Protesters say that most of them currently receive the minimum pension and struggle to make ends meet.
“Many of us have to live with a minimum pensions of 12,000 denars (under 200 Euros). No one can live normally with such low amounts when the price of food has increased by 50%, and living expenses such as electricity, heating, water and rent are less affordable”, says Letka Mishovska.
Pensioners were also accused of pursuing political goals with their protests. On the other hand, they were outraged when state officials' salaries increased by up to 78%.
“In the markets no one asks if we are members of a party, but if we have money to pay for the food we buy. We, retirees with low pensions, protest to have a few more pennies to buy food”, says Divna Zdraveska. “We want the government to pass a law to increase our low pensions, so that we too can survive. They raised their own already high salaries by 78%. And for months, they have been saying that the single-digit increase in pensions is great”.
The president of the Pensioners’ Association in Tetovo, Selver Memeti, points out that, out of almost 14,000 pensioners in the Tetovo region, about half have low pensions because they used to work in textile factories where they had low salaries and therefore low pension contributions.
“Pensioners must be helped. The United Nations say that the state should take care of the elderly, and pensioners belong in that category. Tetovo is a textile city, and it is known that textile workers have the lowest salaries and therefore the lowest pensions”, said Memeti. “There are 14,000 pensioners in Tetovo, of which over 50% have low pensions, or pensions below 14,000 denars (220 Euros)”.
Conflicting visions
In the country there is also a Party of pensioners led by Ilija Nikolovski, which does not support these demands. The party sees the current model of pension adjustment, which follows the cost of living and the increase in salaries, as the most realistic and most favourable for all beneficiaries, but believes that a more favourable solution should be found for the minimum pensions, which is why they have started talks with the government.
Some of the presidents of the local associations of pensioners did not support the protests and stood behind the decisions of the Republican Union of Pensioners. They also disagree with the demands to increase pensions by the same amount for everyone and to have a minimum pension.
“The Union of Associations of Pensioners of Macedonia supports the request to increase the minimum pension and therefore prepared proposals for the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy”, read a press release by the organisation.
No answers from the working group
During the summer months, representatives of the protesting pensioners met with Minister of Labour and Social Policy Jovanka Trenchevska. She announced that a working group will look into the possibilities for further pension increases. But since then, neither the minister nor representatives of the working group have made public statements to the media about a possible proposal or solution for larger pensions.
The ministry has only informed that according to the Law on Pensions there is no basis for linear adjustment of pensions, and such adjustment does not exist in the pension systems of neighbouring or European countries.
According to government, there was a single-digit increase in January and September 2022, as well as in January, March and September 2023, overall by more than 20%.
1.8 million people live in Macedonia, of which almost 340,000 are pensioners, while 700,000 members of the active population are employed (employment rate 45.5%), and over 100,000 are unemployed (unemployment rate 13.1%). The average salary is 36,390 denars (591 Euros), while the average pension is 20,122 denars (327 Euros).
