Minimum wage in Bulgaria will increase to 780 BGN as of January 1

The size of the minimum wage to become 780 BGN from January 1, 2023, Bulgaria’s caretaker government decided on December 29, at its last meeting for this year.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Lazar Lazarov explained that this increase amounts to about 9.9 percent compared to the current minimum wage of 710 BGN. On an annual basis, the increase is exactly 20 percent.

About 500 thousand employees receive the minimum wage. The amount proposed today by the cabinet is 10 BGN higher than the one discussed at the last meeting of the Tripartite Council on December 22.

"This ensures the possibility of compensating for the increase in inflation during the year. This way it is possible for those receiving the minimum wage, or those whose basic salaries are determined as a proportion of the minimum wage, to have an increase from the beginning of January," Lazarov said.

These include those working in social services and those using the personal assistance mechanism, Lazarov further explained.

Trade unions remain dissatisfied with today's decision of the caretaker cabinet as they insisted on a minimum wage of 850 BGN. That is why the caretaker deputy prime minister said that together with the social partners, in early 2023, he would start work on the mechanism for setting the minimum wage.

The left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party also insisted on a rise in the minimum wage to the size of 850 BGN. BSP leader, Kornelia Ninova, criticised the cabinet. According to her, President Radev has made a Christmas present to the war-lovers and has forgotten about the workers, the weak and the poor.

The government's decision today should have been to increase the minimum wage to 50% of the average wage, from January 1, 2023. Half a million Bulgarians, who are the working poor, were waiting for this decision, wrote Ninova on social media networks.

Instead, in her words, Radev's caretaker cabinet rushed between the holidays to quietly decide that there will be more and more weapons for Ukraine, but the decisions will now go through the National Assembly. Ninova is referring to the draft additional agreement between the ministries of defence of Bulgaria and Ukraine approved today.