Trade Unions demand minimum wage increase

The trade unions on February 3 issued a joint declaration in which they demand an increase in the minimum wage to 850 BGN from the middle of the year and to 1,000 BGN from next year.

They are also proposing a tax-free minimum equal to the minimum wage to stimulate consumption.

The CITUB and "Podkrepa" trade unions also want to participate in the negotiations with the European Commission for the renegotiation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan by dropping the requirement for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions in the energy sector compared to 2019 and postponing the liberalisation of the electricity market for household consumers.

"It is beyond doubt that incomes need to grow beyond the situation we are in. We need to increase the scope of collective bargaining. I think that's where we're going to reach agreement with the employers and the government. What needs to be agreed immediately is to drop these commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% compared to 2019, because this is absurd and the state can't deliver - it means closing down our energy sector," said Dimitar Manolov, president of the “Podkrepa” trade union.