Fatmir Bitiqi asks the Government: What alternative after rejection of the €600 minimum wage proposal?
SDSM MP requested a written reply and accused the Ministry of Economy of underestimating the consumption basket, saying citizens face growing shortfalls between wages and costs.
Fatmir Bitiqi sharply questioned the Government's economic policy during today's Assembly session devoted to MPs' questions, demanding a written reply after the parliamentary majority rejected SDSM's proposal to raise the minimum wage to €600. He made the request in the absence of Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska-Kocoska.
Bitiqi warned that citizens are experiencing a widening gap between incomes and living costs and pointed to union calculations that, he said, show a steady erosion of purchasing power.
Numbers and costs, month by month
“In November 2023, 2.2 minimum wages were needed to cover the union consumption basket, while in September 2026 2.7 minimum wages are needed, or even 3.26 minimum wages if rent is included. The September basket of 69,432 denars requires 2.7 minimum wages of 26,046 denars. That means two minimum wages leave a shortfall of 17,340 denars per month for basic costs, and that is without rent. Food and beverages alone cost 25,259 denars, which is 97 percent of one minimum wage,” Bitiqi said from the parliamentary rostrum.
He stressed that a slowdown in headline inflation does not mean prices have returned to previous levels or that citizens have regained lost living standards. Bitiqi noted that in 2025 food prices rose by 5.2 percent — 1.1 percentage points above overall inflation of 4.1 percent that year — and that despite September's inflation of 2.7 percent this year, food prices still rose by a further 0.5 percent in that single month.
Bitiqi also challenged the Ministry of Economy's calculations. He cited the ministry's announced average consumption basket for August of 58,475 denars and said that figure is 10,200 denars lower than the unions' estimate.
“The Ministry of Economy decided to do 'rosy' mathematics in public. And even according to their average consumption basket, two minimum wages are insufficient and there is a shortfall of 6,383 denars. A measure for the standard of living cannot be only statistics, but the real ability of citizens to cover basic needs with dignity. The government must provide concrete solutions instead of rejecting proposals for higher wages,” he said.
The SDSM parliamentary group has submitted the draft law on a €600 minimum wage for the third time; Bitiqi used the session to press for clear alternative measures from the Government to address the falling standard of living.
Photo: press material from the event
