Macedonian Railways Unsafe, Workers Say

“With all of our credibility at stake we wish to warn the public and the authorities about the frequent flaws and defects that our trains face,” the head of the union, Risto Pejovski, told a press conference. He argued that the institutions in charge remain deaf to the union's pleas and do not provide sufficient funds needed for maintenance.

Pejovski contended that the recent incident in which a train locomotive of “Macedonian Railways” en route from the capital Skopje to the western town of Kicevo derailed, leaving eight injured, was not a mere unfortunate event.

The workers responsible for maintaining that track were not doing their job, he said, because they were sent on forced vacation by the management.

"The Macedonian public should not be surprised if the same thing that  happenedrecently in Croatia, where wagons slid off the railway and caused human casualties, happens here,” Pejovski noted.

The union complained that the management did not pay even the smallest sum for the life insurance for the locomotive drivers, which they said is a must in such a high risk job.

The workers have asked to be granted rights to beneficial services and shares of the now 100 per cent state-owned company that they say they helped build with their own hands during the socialist era.

The workers threatened they would start striking if the Ministry of Transport continued to ignore them.