Macedonian Government has decided to permanently employ about 3.000 people who are now hired in the public administration through non-permanent contracts, Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Pesevski said on Tuesday. Pesevski added that these are employees who have worked for years, through different types of contracts, and that their full employment will be organized in three groups.

"All who have worked at least for three months on non-permanent contracts by 30 November 2014, and are still in the same contracts, will be able to apply for permanent employment", Pesevski said. About a third of the group will be fully hired as soon as the Parliament passes the law that is now being proposed by the Government, another third will be employed by December 1st, and the remainder by September 2016.

Pesevski added that the temporary contracts will remain valid until the permanent ones can be drawn out. First to get full employment will be those employees who have been hired with temporary contracts the longest.

The option will apply to volunteers, contractors and part time workers who have worked in cultural and education institutions, in the healthcare, childcare and welfare, municipal units and public utilities, foundations and other institutions founded by the state.

"These people faced a situation of uncertainty even though they performed responsible and significant tasks. As a responsible Government, we were aware of this short-coming and after long term analysis, we decided that this issue needs to be settled", Pesevski said, adding that he expects that this will also cause better productivity and efficiency in their work.