National Council for Tripartite Cooperation supports proposed budget update

An extraordinary meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) discussed an update of the 2021 state budget proposed by the caretaker cabnet, the public social insurance budget, and the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

"The three budgets were discussed - the state budget for 2021, the state social security and the NHIF budget. All three budgets are supported, with small remarks about the budget of the Health Insurance Fund. The goal is to allow the state to continue to function normally within revenues, which will be accumulated additionally in order to prevent the deficit from being exceeded, on the contrary, the deficit will be reduced by 0.5% " the caretaker Minister of Labour and Social Policy Galab Donev told the briefing on July 26 after the meeting.

According to him, the additional revenues come from the higher collection of taxes and excises and from the health and social security contributions.

"The summer months allow businesses to operate normally, at full speed. The increase offered is within reason, in connection with the assumption of possible subsequent wave of COVID, there is a resource to guarantee businesses and working citizens and households. There is an increase in all budgets - in the field of social policy - the proposed recalculation of pensions, over 230 million are set for other social payments," added Galab Donev.

According to him, parents of children under the age of 14 will also be supported in the event of a new lockdown and if the parent have to stay at home to look after the children.

"This update was made with the assumption of a severe COVID crisis," said caretaker Finance Minister Asen Vassilev.

Accordingly, the set parameters of growth and inflation are in line with such a scenario, payments to business and the healthcare system are also in line with such a scenario. They are conditional - if such a crisis does not happen, they will be significantly smaller, Vassilev said.

He added that the idea of the update is to ensure that the new government can cope with a new COVID wave without resorting to hard emergency measures.

Plamen Dimitrov, President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, said that the trade union supports thebudget update. He said that that spending has been increased to cover the necessary areas, including support to business, employment, additional spending in healthcare, without cutting other expenditures.

CITUB has made several proposals - to support public transport, as well as to increase the quota for food vouchers.

"One of the things that needs to be told to the new government from day one is that there is a valid tripartite agreement signed with the Bulgarian government. It includes the relationship between employers, trade unions and the state," said Radosvet Radev, chairman of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce.

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