Public Sector Workers Protest, Demand Higher Pay

Government employees protested while the Tripartite Council was discussing this year’s budget. The protesters are demanding higher wages and an exemption from social security contributions.

State employees staged a protest as the Tripartite Council was discussing the budget for the year.

The demonstrators are calling for higher salaries and an exemption from paying social security contributions. They also oppose a planned 10% reduction in personnel expenditure included in the draft budget.

The protesters are demanding the repeal of the State Civil Servants Act, which would grant administration workers rights similar to those of other employees. They have warned of effective strikes if their demands are not met.

Plamen Dimitrov, president of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB): “We cannot allocate 2–3 billion in unnecessary—artificial—expenditures for a capital program, thereby inflating the deficit, while at the same time cutting 80–100 million from these people’s salaries.”

Kremena Atanasova, Chair of the Trade Union Council at the “Podkrepa” Trade Union Confederation:“There are departments with just two or three people handling hundreds, even thousands, of applications. Cutting costs means these positions will be eliminated. And these people will be overwhelmed. They’ll work every Saturday and Sunday, and the public will be twice as dissatisfied.”

Sofia Alexandrova, social worker: “People are getting more money from me in benefits than I earn. My monthly salary is 700 euros; I work for 400. It’s just not going to work.”