Wage Increases of 15–20% for Forestry and Agriculture Sector

The meeting was productive and an agreement has been reached—this was the announcement made by Minister of Agriculture Georgi Tahov during a press briefing at the ministry, following negotiations with the trade unions on July 14. The consensus includes salary increases between 15% and 20% in the Forestry, Agriculture, Hail Suppression, and Fisheries and Aquaculture sectors. Earlier today, a protest by employees of forestry and hunting enterprises escalated into clashes with police on the Trakia Motorway.

“We agreed on an increase in personnel expenditure, effective July 1, in the following sectors: Regional Directorates of Agriculture – 20%, Executive Agency for Hail Suppression – 15%, and the Executive Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture – 15%. The goal of this increase is to reduce wage disparities within these systems and structures. The condition is that the funds be allocated both to minimize pay imbalances and to raise salaries across the specified institutions.
In the Forestry sector, we reached an agreement for a 15% salary indexation, also effective July 1, with priority given to the lowest wage brackets, specifically those earning up to 2,000 BGN. This is a proposal that will now need to be approved by the Ministry of Finance and follow the legal procedure for a Cabinet decision,” Minister Tahov said.

The forestry workers’ protest on Trakia Motorway ended around 2:00 PM. Despite tensions and clashes with police, the motorway was not blocked.

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“These funds should be secured with a Council of Ministers decision, and we will be monitoring closely how this unfolds in the coming days. As a result, we are canceling the protest scheduled for tomorrow,” announced Plamen Dimitrov, President of CITUB.