site.btaProtest Stops Public Transport in Sofia
Protests stopped public transport in Sofia on Wednesday morning at 4 am. The tram depot in the Banishora district is currently blocked, Todor Kapitanov, Vice President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), told BTA.
The strike actions in front of the depots and garages of the public transport companies in Sofia are expected to continue until 8 am on Wednesday, but there is a possibility that they will continue until noon. Only metro trains will run. The Traffic Police are ready if there is any need to regulate traffic in the city, the Sofia Traffic Police told BTA.
In connection with the blocking of surface public transport in the capital, Metropolitan EAD said that they will launch an additional four metro trains on Lines M1, M2 and M4, as well as two additional trains on Line M3.
Due to the protest of surface public transport, Wednesday will be a non-school day for schools in Sofia, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said on Tuesday.
The protest is being held under the slogan "Decent Work, Decent Pay! There is no economy without transport!". The protesters are employees of the capital's public transport, from the CITUB and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour trade unions.
The Federation of Transport Trade Unions at the CITUB and the Federation of Transport Workers at the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour are demanding the urgent allocation of additional financial resources from the state budget in the amount of BGN 40.7 million. They expect BGN 29 million for the capital's public transport, BGN 6.5 million for the public transport in Varna, BGN 0.7 million for Ruse and BGN 4.5 million for the Automobile Administration Executive Agency, informed the CITUB.
“Our demands are for an increase in wages not by 5%, but by at least 15%,” said Kapitanov. "We call for an immediate meeting with the Sofia Municipality and the Finance Ministry to find long-term solutions regarding wages and working conditions in the sector,” he added, noting that “this is a warning action about what would happen if the workers and employees enter into a procedure of effective strike”.
On April 14, public transport workers expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation. They protested in Sofia and closed three intersections, after which they marched to the Ministry of Finance and the Sofia Municipality.
/DT/
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