“There is a need to raise people’s incomes, because their cost of living has increased. End of story!”, contends Dimitar Manolov, President of the Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa”. Bulgaria’s two largest trade unions - the Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa” and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) are organizing a large-scale protest today in front of the National Assembly building to demand a rise in incomes to offset the skyrocketing inflation. The political situation in the country, the unclear time horizons regarding the formation of a regular cabinet, and the caretaker cabinet’s statement that it would not table a draft budget for 2023, has awakened skepticism about the success of the trade union action. Thousands took to the streets in central Sofia and called for “a rise in incomes and labor hoarding”, which is the motto of today’s protest. The rally continues with a protest motorcade downtown Sofia. “This is just a warning. The next step is a strike”, noted CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov.

• Bulgaria's two main trade unions are staging a protest today

“I cannot calculate the odds of success, but if we do not try, we have a zero chance of success. They always start with one and the same answer- there is no money, but at one point the necessary financing is found. There is enough money for sure, but the question is how it is spent”, Dimitar Manolov said in an interview for the BNR.

The trade unions demand an urgent adoption of a state budget for next year, not an extension of the 2022 budget. However, Bulgaria’s caretaker Premier Galab Donev is of a different opinion:

“A long term policy, such as the income policy, must be adopted and implemented by a regular government. That is why, the caretaker cabinet cannot have its own policy on incomes, including their increase, and is obliged to follow the established policy”, Premier Galab Donev said from the parliamentary rostrum.

Protesters are demanding a pay rise to offset inflation, which has reached 18.7% year on year, as well as a rise in all private and public sector wages in 2023 by at least 13%.

“According to official statistics, the annual inflation has reached 18.7%, but unofficial inflation of goods consumed on a daily basis exceeds 40%-50%. There is no way things can happen in Bulgaria without an increase in incomes in every single sphere. We insist that a regular budget for 2023 be adopted and that this budget contains all demands by CITUB, including the increase of the minimum monthly salary from BGN 710 (EUR 363) to BGN 850 (EUR 440). The state-owned enterprises and structures are entirely dependent on the state budget and they cannot raise incomes if such a policy is not provided for in the budget”, said Dr. Todor Kapitanov, National Secretary of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria. In his words, gross wages in the public sector must reach at least BGN 1,800 (EUR 900) to guarantee the survival of a single-member household.

• Dissatisfaction over low incomes and high inflation escalates in Bulgaria

The structures of CITUB and the Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa” in the Bulgarian National Radio are also participating at the protest, because the salaries in the BNR are way below the average wages in Sofia and are close to the minimum monthly salary. For instance, a sound engineer currently receives BGN 900 (EUR 450). That is why the BNR is unable to attract highly-qualified specialists in its structures.

“The budget of the Bulgarian National Radio has remained unchanged in recent years. Meanwhile, maintenance costs, cost of electricity, frequency maintenance, etc, have been constantly on the rise- says Darina Grigorova, representative of the Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa” at the BNR, The annual electricity bill is close to BGN 1 million (EUR 500,000), radio frequency maintenance costs nearly BGN 800,000 (EUR 400,000) per year. Equipment prices and prices of consumables went up by 20%. We really need a budget update, because most of the financing allocated to the BNR is spent on electricity bills and frequencies.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov