VZCZCXRO4173
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0725/01 3371813
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021813Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7851
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0438
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000725 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE, DRL/IL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ILO PHUM SOCI PGOV MK
SUBJECT:  Teachers Strike Hits at VMRO's Weak Spot 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: A nationwide teachers strike has dragged on for 
more than a week and closed schools throughout the country, though a 
settlement may be near.  Union leaders have accused the GoM of 
hardball tactics and outright lies in dealing with the strike; the 
GoM has countered that the strike is an opposition plot and that 
there is no money in the budget to meet union demands for pay and 
benefit increases.  The strike may be a sign of some increasing 
discontent with PM Gruevski's heretofore extremely popular 
government.  End summary. 
 
School's Out...Indefinitely? 
 
¶2. (SBU) Union sources suggest that a bitter week-long teachers 
strike by SONK, (Union of Education, Science and Culture Employees), 
may be reaching its end in the coming days.  The union called the 
strike November 24 after negotiations with the GoM failed.  SONK's 
demands included conclusion of a comprehensive collective bargaining 
agreement with the government (a long-standing issue) which will 
ultimately trigger a salary increase; an increase in food and 
transportation allowances to equate with allowances received by 
employees in the public administration, and conversion of teachers 
currently on short-term contracts to permanent employment. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Led primarily by Deputy PM for Economy Stavreski, the GoM 
has held firm, claiming that with the expected slowdown in the 
economy due to the global financial crisis, the government cannot 
give in to union demands.  Stavreski's hard line included 
threatening principals who participate in the strike with 
dismissals, and schools with 3000 Euro fines, and dispatching the 
Education Minister and other officials to individual schools to 
browbeat the staffs into returning to work.  (NOTE:  Principals in 
Macedonian schools are allowed to be, and often are, union members 
alongside teachers.  End Note.)  The government has also run lengthy 
media spots accusing the union of depriving Macedonia's children of 
their constitutional right to an education.  Other efforts against 
the strike have carried a more sinister tone, including a fax sent 
November 28 by the administration of a Skopje municipality 
requesting from schools in its districts lists of names and 
telephone numbers of all parents and school board members.  While 
the GoM has claimed that as little as 20% of the country's schools 
have been affected by the strike, anecdotal evidence in Skopje and 
other towns suggest that most schools are not operating. 
 
An Opposition Plot? 
 
¶4. (SBU) The strike has also created a natural opportunity for 
sniping between the ruling party, VMRO, and its chief opposition 
rival, SDSM.  Government sources have accused the SDSM, as well as 
President Crvenkovski, of masterminding the strike solely for 
political benefit.  SDSM's Secretary-General, Igor Ivanovski, told 
us November 28 that in fact SONK -- a relatively new union -- has 
generally enjoyed closer ties with VMRO than SDSM, and that VMRO 
encouraged numerous strikes when SDSM was in government from 
2002-2006.  Crvenkovski told the Ambassador November 29 that he has 
nothing to do with the strike.  SDSM has sharply criticized the 
GoM's handling of the strike, and is undoubtedly happy to see the 
government put into a tough spot. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Union President Dojcin Cvetanovski has complained to us 
throughout the strike that the government has used heavy-handed 
tactics, and has asked for our assistance.  He accused the 
government of lying in its ad campaign, saying that if the GoM 
really were paying teachers as it claims he would call off the 
strike immediately.  He claimed that the government was politicizing 
the strike, with the final aim to destroy SONK, which he says is the 
country's only multiethnic union.  Cvetanovski announced November 28 
that he and some others in the union leadership would start a hunger 
strike to protest the government's tactics. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Embassy has maintained a balanced line, listening to 
Cvetanovski's complaints and also reaching out to government sources 
to gather information.  We have declined any efforts to have us take 
a public position.  We have counseled both sides that a deal should 
be reached soon, noting that an extended period where Macedonia's 
children do not receive an education would not bode well for the 
country's efforts to attract foreign investment and ultimately for 
its Euro-Atlantic aspirations.   A Brussels-based teachers union, 
Education International, has sent a representative and voiced 
support for SONK. 
 
GoM Looking Beyond Only the Strike 
 
¶7. (SBU) PM Gruevski's Chief of Staff, Martin Protoger, told us 
November 28 that he has been engaged in lengthy negotiations with 
Cvetanovski and that the GoM, while friendly with SONK, is simply 
unable financially to meet the union's demands.  Protoger suggested 
that the government is also feeling the heat politically, with other 
protests planned Dec. 1 (by e-Macedonian veterans of the 2001 
conflict demanding a huge social benefits package) and constant 
 
SKOPJE 00000725  002 OF 002 
 
 
threats of protests by dairy producers demanding increased price 
supports.  Protoger claimed that former Interior Minister and likely 
presidential candidate Ljube Boskovski is behind the veterans' 
protest; they are demanding an annual package of 22 billion denars 
(US $480 million), which amounts to more than the GoM's entire 
annual health care budget. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Cvetanovski subsequently informed us Dec. 1 that over the 
weekend he and Protoger may have come close to a deal, essentially a 
compromise on each of SONK's three demands.  However, SONK's board 
must approve the outline of the agreement before the strike can end; 
this could occur in the coming days. 
 
 
Comment: Cracks in the Facade? 
 
¶9. (SBU) Labor unrest has not been a major factor in recent 
Macedonian politics, and the unions are often as politicized as many 
other aspects of civil society here.  Therefore SONK's apparent 
tenacity comes as somewhat of a surprise, given its generally good 
relationship with the ruling VMRO.  So far, it seems, the union has 
refused to go quietly.  We cannot yet assess if this is a chink in 
PM Gruevski's thus far apparently impenetrable political armor, but 
Protoger's comments suggest that there may be more domestic 
challenges ahead for Gruevski's government.  Earlier this year 
Gruevski did resolve a long-standing protest by former employees of 
state-owned enterprises by meeting some of their demands.  The 
question is whether he is willing and able to deploy sufficient 
funds to meet the larger demands of groups like teachers and 
veterans. 
 
Reeker