site.btaRoad Construction Workers Postpone Protest at Pass of the Republic after Ban Issued by Veliko Tarnovo Regional Road Administration

The protest announced for Thursday, March 12, by the Road Works Trade Union in the area of the Pass of the Republic (Hainboaz) has been postponed, the press centre of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) said on Wednesday. The reason is an explicit ban issued by the director of the Regional Road Administration – Veliko Tarnovo, Ventsislav Angelov.

The decision to postpone the protest was also taken in view of CITUB’s experience from last year, when a similar situation led to an escalation and the arrest of CITUB Vice President Todor Kapitanov, the Confederation said. In order to prevent a similar rise in tensions between protesters and law enforcement authorities, as well as to avoid further and indefinitely disrupting the movement of travellers in the Hainboaz area, the Road Works Trade Union decided not to carry out protest actions on Thursday, CITUB explained.

However, the trade union organization considers the ban to be “another example of the violation of trade union rights and the restriction of the right to protest in Bulgaria”. For this reason, CITUB intends to notify its international partners.

The demands of the Road Works Trade Union will once again be presented to the competent institutions and will continue to be pursued through all legal means. Among them is an increase in the wage fund under the extended budget by 5% as of 1 April 2026, which would bring the total increase for 2026 to 10%, CITUB added.

At present, starting salaries reach up to EUR 1,071 for expert staff with higher education; between EUR 752 and EUR 1,020 for agency specialists; and a maximum of EUR 783 for field workers, the union said, warning of staff demotivation.

Last week, CITUB and some of its main members announced protest actions and readiness for such in several cities. Protests took place at Bulgarian Posts and in the public transport systems in Varna and Ruse.

Earlier in the day, employees of Sofia’s public transport were expecting a meeting with representatives of the authorities regarding their demand for a pay rise. However, such a meeting did not take place.