Forest Workers Protest in Bulgaria, Clashes between Police and Protesters near Plovdiv (PHOTOS and VIDEO)

Clashes between police and protesters near Plovdiv.

There were tense confrontations today, July 14, between police forces and demonstrators near Plovdiv. Employees from forestry and hunting enterprises attempted to block the Trakia Motorway (AM "Trakia"), but were stopped by a heavy police presence.

A formal order issued by the mayor of Maritsa Municipality prohibited the protest. Todor Kapitanov, Deputy Chairman of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB/KNSB), was arrested and taken to the police station in the village of Trud for questioning. Some of the protesters began moving toward the station in solidarity.

The demonstration, organised by CITUB, is calling for wage increases and better occupational health and safety conditions for workers in the forestry and hunting sectors. Protesters tried to halt traffic on the motorway, but the police stated that such an action was unauthorized. Motorists were advised to use an alternative route through Pazardzhik.

Todor Kapitanov, Vice President of CITUB:“This might be the first civil trade union–police conflict in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, people are so fed up with the misery they work in—they just want to be heard.”

Danail Petrov - forest guard, town of Danail. “Our job is far too demanding for the pay we receive.”

BNT Reporter: Do you participate in firefighting?

“Yes. Who else is going to do it? The fire department arrives, waits on the road, and doesn’t enter the forest. We go in with beaters and backpack sprayers—day and night—until the fire is out, we don’t go home.”
Eng. Dimitar Manchev, hunting expert at the State Hunting Reserve in Gramatikovo:

“The salary for a forest worker without a university degree, starting today, is 1,260 BGN net [approx. €645]. Tell me, who would take that job for that wage? The workdays are hard in summer and even harder in winter.”

Protesters warned that if their demands are not met, workers in the sector are prepared to escalate to full-scale strikes and may cease participating in forest fire suppression efforts.

See Mariella Khubinova's live coverage