site.btaNovember 26, 1990: 35 Years Since Nationwide General Strike that Toppled Lukanov Cabinet

Thirty five years ago on Wednesday, at 6:00 a.m. on November 26, 1990, a nationwide general strike broke out in Bulgaria, declared on the previous day by the National Strike Committee of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour.

The purpose of the industrial action was to force Prime Minister Andrey Lukanov to resign over his Socialist Cabinet's failure to deliver on understandings reached with the unions, including an agreement of August 1990 on indexing part of personal incomes, an agreement on setting up a separate public social insurance fund as from September 1, 1990, etc. "The Government refuses to negotiate with Podkrepa on the price increases and the relevant compensations, it interrupts all dialogue and social partnership with Podkrepa," the organizers declared. They slammed Lukanov as an "unsatisfactory social partner in the tripartite system, violating the international conventions ratified by the Republic of Bulgaria."

The Bulgarian Socialist Party and the Prosecutor General's Office insisted that the strike was illegitimate and political despite "belated attempts to present it as a trade-union action proper."

Estimates of the number of strikers varied widely by source. On November 27, the Council of Ministers announced that the strike involved not more than 40,000 people in aggregate countrywide, which represented less than 1% of Bulgaria's working population. For its part, the Podkrepa National Strike Committee on the same day counted a total of 790,000 strikers in 80 cities and towns. In Sofia alone, 412 enterprises and organizations with 220,000 employees stopped work. 

On November 29, 1990, Prime Minister Lukanov tendered his resignation, which was accepted by the Seventh Grand National Assembly on November 30, 1990.

Following are excerpts from the extensive coverage of the strike in the BTA Home News Desk (VINF) bulletin of November 26, 1990:

"Sofia, November 26 (BTA) - Journalists, technicians and staffers of the Bulgarian News Agency are insisting on the immediate resignation of the Andrey Lukanov Cabinet. A declaration signed by more than 260 people emphasizes that the government is to blame for the humiliating impasse into which society has been plunged, for the wasted time and for the dashed hopes of the Bulgarian people. 'The Government tried to gag the mass media and obstruct objective reporting. It continues to keep the national news agency paralyzed by ignoring for ten months now the staff's insistence on the appointment of a regular management,' the declaration says.

The signers of the declaration state that they will not bow to pressure from the Government and back the strike against it, pledging to provide the public with information that is as swift, accurate and impartial as possible.

The collection of signatures on the declaration at BTA continues.
BTA// /TS/  18:43:10    26-11-1990"

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"VINF 210  In Support of the Strike

Sofia, November 26 (BTA) – 'Peace, Bread, Freedom' was the slogan raised today from the rostrum of a rally convened by the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour Podkrepa in Sofia's Sveti Alexander Nevsky Square, which went on for hours. One speaker after another urged people to join the national industrial action declared by Podkrepa and demanded the resignation of Andrey Lukanov and the Cabinet he heads. The crowd responded with chants of 'Resign!', 'Down with the Bulgarian Communist Party!', 'We Are Hungry!', 'Stop Work!' and 'Podkrepa!' […]

The leader of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, Dr Konstantin Trenchev, declared the strike legitimate, arguing that the [Collective] Labour Disputes Act permits trade-union intervention when the nation's standard of living deteriorates. He insisted that the Government should step down once it is unable to guarantee a living wage for the population. Mr Trenchev blamed the Government's policy of inaction in recent months for the social tensions that have built up in the country.
/I. Bozhilova, V. Konstantinov/SG   19:12:21    26-11-1990"

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"Sofia, November 26 (BTA) – The first day of the general strike called by the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour was assessed as successful by the Chairman of the National Strike Committee, Dr Krastyo Krastev. Speaking to a BTA reporter, he said the strike had got off to a good start despite heavy and unlawful pressure on striking workers and threats of dismissal issued by administrative managements. In many places, according to Dr Krastev, attempts were made to replace strikers with pensioners, servicemen and employees from other enterprises. The strike, he said, was time and again declared illegal, although no court procedure had yet been initiated. […]

The number of participants in the actions cannot be established precisely before tomorrow owing to the slow delivery of the reports. […]

The strike continues tomorrow.
/V. Konstantinov/SG   20:28:24   26-11-1990"