Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the trade union branches that are members of ICFTU and IUL in Macedonia organized several seminars on different topics during the last six months. One group of seminars was focused on collective agreements and negotiations and the other group of seminars was focused on improving safety conditions in the enterprises by learning about the law on protection at work, and its rules and regulations in Republic of Macedonia.

The changes in the labour law are a base for a renewal of the collective agreements on general and branch level. Having in mind the difficult position in which trade unions are in Macedonia, organizing this kind of seminars was just in time. They provided the participants with a chance not only to learn and practice their skills in negotiations for collective agreements, but also to exchange opinions with their colleagues from Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro.

Most of the participants were for the first time included in the negotiating teams and they expressed their interest and need for this kind of training. Trainers presented the main issues during negotiations on collective agreements, such as how to make employers accept to negotiate with the trade unions, or how to balance the negotiations, and techniques of efficient negotiations. Participants had a chance to hear about hands on experiences from negotiators from Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. In the second part of the seminar, participants had a chance to apply the new acquired knowledge through a role-play of negotiations. Role-plays were the most interesting part, since the assigned groups took it very seriously. They created strong teams, which simulated real negotiations to a striking similarity with real conditions. After the presentations of the simulated negotiations, there was a chance for the participants to analyze their weak and strong points during the role-play, and to discuss some possible solutions to the problems that have arisen during the simulation.

The seminar on protection at work was quite a novelty for trade union members, despite the fact that each enterprise is obliged to follow certain procedures and rules to protect the workers, or at least to reduce the chances for work-related injury or sickness. Participants on this seminar were trade union members that are dealing with the issues regarding protection at work in the enterprises where they were employed. A representative from the Macedonian Association for Protection at Work presented and explained the main points of the new Macedonian law on protection at work. In addition, the representative from Croatia gave an overview of the Croatian law for protection at work and how this law is applied with all its advantages and disadvantages. Special emphasis was given on the ways in which was dealt with the problems that were appearing in the enterprises, whether on the employers or the workers side. It was concluded that there is a need for more specific education, which will be aimed at different safety requirements suitable for different professions and working demands.

The overall evaluation of the seminars was positive, however participants stressed the need for more seminars of this kind, since the economic situation in the state is difficult and their position is weakened due to the fractioning of the trade unions and lack of solidarity among their members. Additional difficulty that could be noted from all of the conducted seminars in moving forward is that trade union members are without a positive vision for their future, or confidence that they are capable to make a change through their work.