A protest by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) took place in front of the Parliament building on March 20. The action was under the slogan "We want visible salary increases with Budget 2025". The trade union organisation once again insists on more funds for salaries in the public sector, including for employees of public media. The main demand is for an additional 250 million BGN in this year's budget, which would allow for salary increases in various state institutions.
Shortly after 08:30 a.m., traffic on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, between the Bulgarian National Bank and the Parliament, was blocked.
"Without journalists, there is no truth; without journalists, there is no democracy."
With these words began the protest TV studio of CITUB, which briefly blocked the Blvd. "Tsar Osvoboditel", with the demand for an increase in wages for public sector employees, including public service broadcasters.
Milen Ivanov, presenter at BNT : "The demands are very specific - for a decent remuneration of our journalistic work, because the function of the public media, in particular the Bulgarian National Television, is extremely responsible. The function is to be impartial, to be objective, and at the moment the pay and, in general, the remuneration of our highly professional work is extremely low, I would even say insulting."
Lyubomir Mirchev, chairman of the National Radio and Television Trade Union, CITUB: "For two years, the state has not given a single cent to BNT for salary increases."
CITUB insists on salary increases in other public sectors where employees are underpaid for their work and responsibilities. These include those working in state agencies, institutes, and companies, in healthcare, transport, agriculture, Bulgarian Posts, and the Nuclear Regulatory Agency. 250 million BGN are needed.
Lyuboslav Kostov, chief economist at CITUB: "The money is small, when you add it up it is 250 million BGN. Where will it come from? It could be taken from the capital programme, from where they took the money to modify the initial version of the Swiss rule. This is a matter of political will, because until a month ago, there was 10% for everyone in the old budget. People saw their 10%, and now suddenly it’s 5%, and people are asking – where is the rest?"
Todor Kapitanov, vice-president of CITUB: "The salaries in Budget 2025 are so low and so small that they can’t even be seen under a microscope."
Symbolically, CITUB gave MPs a microscope and 240 magnifying glasses to remind them of their demands during the discussions on the 2025 budget, with a call for their appeal to be heard.
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