2.1 General context
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Historical developments
The Republic of North Macedonia is a small Balkan country which became independent in 1991. Volunteering in North Macedonia has not seen any attractiveness in the past, and even today the country cannot offer a large number of voluntary activities at the state level.
The very first National Youth Strategy 2005-2015 in itself emphasized the importance of “the development and strengthening of the civil society, volunteering and civil association are vital step in the promotion of responsible citizenship and democracy guarantee”. In line with that, one of the key measures of this strategy was The Parliament to adopt a Law which will regulate the volunteer work which is the first state official document that raises the question of regulating the volunteering in the country, and recognition of the volunteering on the other hand.
The Law on Volunteering (Закон за волонтерство) was adopted in July 2007. Prior to its adoption, the legal system imposed several obstacles to volunteering and in some instances reflected a misunderstanding of the concept. For example, reimbursement of expenses incurred by volunteers was subject to taxation, the lack of volunteer status led to misapplication and misunderstanding of the concept, and the status of foreign volunteers was not regulated. The law remedies these problems.
The law still regulates organized volunteering, i.e., volunteer activities that take place between a volunteer and a host organization. The law states explicitly that it does not aim to limit other types of volunteering (such as informal, occasional, etc.). Article 4 of the Law on Volunteering (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 85, July 9, 2007) defines a volunteer as a natural person who provides services, skills, or knowledge for the benefit of other people, bodies, organizations and institutions on a voluntary basis without financial or other personal gain. The principle of free will embodied in this definition distinguishes volunteering from unpaid mandatory services such as military or apprenticeship.
The law itself has been amended four times. The first one in 2008, (Law on Amendments to the Law on Volunteering) related to the reimbursement of the costs of the volunteers (about food and travel), the second one in 2015 (Law on Amendments to the Law on Volunteering), related to the penalty provisions, the third one in 2019 (Law on Amendments to the Law on Volunteering), and the fourth one in 2021 (Law on Amendments to the Law on Volunteering) related to the changes on monetary penalty. The new amendments do not bring any substantial changes, the change was only in regards towards specifying the existing provisions in the section of the organization of the volunteers work, establishes the procedure for issuing consent for volunteer work at public institutions, state authorities, municipalities, the municipalities of the city of Skopje and the city of Skopje, the rights of volunteers, etc. In addition, the establishment of a National Council for the promotion and development of volunteerism is foreseen, as well as the issuance of a volunteer certificate for performing volunteer work. This law was last amended in the year of 2021.
In 2013, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy proposed amendments to the Law on Volunteering (Law on Amendments to the Law on Volunteering) regarding the personal data protection of foreign volunteers. For unknown reasons, the proposed amendments were not incorporated in the amendments of 2015 and they have never been voted.
Research analysis indicates that a low number of citizens participate in the civil society sector and in other community activities in general. According to the Central Registry of the Republic of North Macedonia there are more than 15,400 registered civil society organizations in North Macedonia, however, not all of them are active.
According to the National Youth Strategy 2023-2027, aims to encourage volunteer activities for environmental protection, including valuing the volunteer engagement of young people.
In December 2021, the Government adopted the new Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for Cooperation with and Development of the Civil Sector 2022-2024 (Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for cooperation with and development of the civil sector 2022-2024), together with Action Plan (Action plan for the implementation of the Strategy of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for cooperation with and development of the civil sector 2022-2024) which in the Priority area 3: Civil Society as an Actor in Social and Economic Development, provides concrete activities for promotion and development of volunteerism at the state level.
Moreover, the Ministry for Labour and Social Policy has adopted a Strategy and Action Plan for Promotion and Development of volunteering (2021-2025), in which it gives an overview of the current situation regarding volunteering in the country. However, the strategy has included in itself the research, conducted by the Coalition for youth organization “SEGA” in 2018, which shows that 26,5 of the respondents have been volunteers, whereas 76,1 have never been volunteers.
Civil society organizations have developed their own initiatives based on their program needs and priorities, such as establishing international and local volunteer centers, exchange services for volunteers, such as the European Voluntary Service, organizing local volunteer actions, capacity building, and development of manuals or guides, organizing promotional events, volunteer camps and so on.
With the adoption of the Law on Volunteering the Government laid the foundation and framework for encouraging people to engage in social processes through the activities of public and private entities.
Main concepts
Definition on volunteering
Volunteering (in terms of the Law on Volunteering, Official Gazette 85/2007, article 3) is understood as free will (voluntary) providing personal services, knowledge and skills and/or commitment of other activities in favor to other persons, bodies, organizations and other institutions, without compensation. This Law does not limit the possibility to provide volunteer services that are inconsistent or accidental by nature voluntary, without compensation.
According to the Law on Labor Relations (Law on Labor Relations ) if the volunteering experience is required for professional exams or for independently performing activities in accordance with a special law, and should be carried out by signing a contract for volunteer service, between the employer and the volunteer. For the volunteer in these terms apply the provisions of this law regarding the duration and performance of the internship, limitation of working hours, daily breaks and leaves the responsibility for compensation, as well as ensuring safety at work, in accordance with the law. Contract for volunteer work must be concluded in writing and a copy of it within three days of signing, must be submitted to the labor inspection.