Konstantin Trenchev, Founder of "Podkrepa" Trade Union Confederation, Has Passed Away

Dr Konstantin Trenchev, founder and honorary president of the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa, has died following a short illness. The news was announced on November 6 on Facebook by Dimitar Manolov, the current president of the trade union organisation.

‘There are individuals whose names remain inextricably linked to a particular historical era. For Bulgaria's independent trade union movement and the democratic changes that followed 1989, that name is Dr Konstantin Trenchev. For the members, leaders and supporters of the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa, he is much more than its founder. His name is a symbol of the courage to stand by one's principles, the determination to defend working people and the conviction that freedom and dignity must never be compromised.

A doctor by profession, a public figure, a dissident by conviction and a leader by vocation, Dr Trenchev was the man who founded Bulgaria's first independent trade union, Podkrepa, in 1989. At a time when free association was impossible and the protection of human and workers' rights was subject to state control, he chose the most difficult path: to stand up to the system and offer hope that independent trade unionism was possible,’ Manolov said.

Photos: Dimitar Manolov, Facebook

The Confederation of Labour Podkrepa said Trenchev was the first Bulgarian to be elected vice-president of both the European Trade Union Confederation and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. In 2015, he stepped down from the leadership of Podkrepa and was elected honorary president of the confederation.

The funeral service will be held on 9 November at 12 noon at St Nedelya Cathedral in Sofia.