The Chamber's initiative on "Holidays in Macedonia and Their Impact on the Economy"—aimed at opening a public discussion regarding the impact of holidays on enterprise productivity and costs—is already gaining public attention and receiving positive commentary from the business sector. The Chamber proposed amendments to the Law aimed at achieving higher productivity, lower costs, and easier organization of work processes.

The initiative is based on a thorough, substantive, and in-depth analysis of 36 European economies, where in 25 of them the number of public holidays and non-working days ranges between 11 and 14 per year, and in more than half of the analyzed states, holidays that fall on a weekend are not transferred to the next working day.

Commenting on the proposal for fewer non-working days for InStore magazine, Danica Lichanin-Blazheska, owner and manager of the Reptil supermarket chain, points out that the current holiday calendar poses a serious organizational challenge for retail companies, particularly due to the need to staff shift work and disburse higher holiday wages.

She supports the proposal that holidays falling on a Sunday should not be rolled over to the following working day. As she stated in her remarks for InStore: "When a holiday falls on a Sunday, it should not be moved to the next day. Let it be celebrated on the day it occurs."

According to her, the number of religious holidays designated by law as non-working days also needs to be reconsidered. Lichanin-Blazheska considers that in a multiethnic and multi-confessional state like Macedonia, the large number of holidays for diverse communities creates additional obligations for employers. She proposes keeping the two main religious holidays, while reviewing the non-working day status of the remaining ones.

The full article and the perspectives shared within it can be read in the latest print issue of InStore magazine: https://instore.mk/category/makedonija/pomalku-nerabotni-denovi-pogolema-produktivnost.