site.btaNational Council for Tripartite Cooperation Meeting Scheduled for November 13 - Employers

A meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) has been scheduled for November 13, Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) Vice President Stanislav Popdonchev told Bulgarian National Radio here on Friday.

“The talks are ongoing. We hope they will continue today and throughout next week. A meeting of the NCTC is scheduled for  the 13th [of November], next Thursday. We hope to have a decision by then so that we can complete the budget procedure before it is submitted to Parliament, in the way prescribed by law,” Popdonchev said. 

The Wednesday meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) of the Cabinet, employers and unions, was called off. The participating employers' organizations refused to attend in protest against the 2026 draft state budget. Also to be discussed at the meeting were the draft budgets for the National Health Insurance Fund and public social insurance.

Regarding the meeting held Thursday at the Ministry of Finance between Government and employer organizations representatives, Popdonchev clarified that it was attended by the ministry’s team and the leadership of the Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency. “Dialogue has been restored to the extent that what we have been insisting on since mid-September has finally happened. Discussions have begun not only on the parameters but also on the budget itself with the employers’ organizations,” the BIA VP commented.

On the issue of the business sector’s demand to reduce the number of vacant positions in the state administration, Popdonchev noted that, according to various estimates, there are around 15,000 such positions, and the business community believes that at least 5,000 of them could be eliminated. He added that if these positions remain vacant for more than six months, the corresponding funds are to be reserved in the budget and later used for additional bonuses for employees in the respective administrations.

“That’s why we’re seeing some very large bonuses in certain systems — BGN 30,000, even up to BGN 1 million in some regulatory bodies — bonuses for members,” Popdonchev commented.