SDSM Will Submit a Legislative Proposal for Professional Soldiers and Demands Higher Pay and Equal Severance

Skopje – SDSM announced on November 8 that it will submit a legislative proposal to the Assembly on the demands of professional soldiers in the Army. The party says the soldiers who guarantee the security of the state “deserve secure jobs, decent pay and equal rights”.

The demands, as listed by SDSM, are four. Higher pay, greater job security, equal treatment in severance pay and conversion of employment to an indefinite term after the fifth year, under the Law on Labour Relations.

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The most concrete issue is severance pay. SDSM considers it unfair that members who retired before February 14, 2024 receive significantly lower severance than those who retired after that date. How big the difference is, the party does not say.

On pay, SDSM claims that in the last two years, since VMRO-DPMNE has been in power, there has been no increase in Army pay. It recalls that during its own time in government the pay of officers, non-commissioned officers, professional soldiers and civilian staff was raised in stages, by a total of 15 percent.

The opposition also criticises the Government, which, according to it, directs funds to “dubious tenders” rather than to raising the pay of workers and farmers. The party stresses that NATO membership, secured in 2020, requires that the conditions of Army members be constantly improved.

What is not known: the announcement has no amounts for pay or severance, no figure on how many professional soldiers are affected and no position of the Ministry of Defence. The 15 percent claim and the claim that pay was not raised are SDSM’s and cannot be verified from the announcement.

The next step is the submission of the legislative proposal to the Assembly. Its text will show how much it costs and who it applies to.

MKNews Hub · Macedonia · November 9, 2026