site.btaPodkrepa Labour Confederation Helped Shape Current Functioning of State, Says Union President

The Podkrepa Confederation of Labour took part in shaping the way the State functions today, said Podkrepa President Dimitar Manolov, speaking to BTA on the occasion of the trade union’s 37th anniversary, marked on February 8.

According to Manolov, not everything over the years has been successful and some issues remain unresolved. 

EU directive on adequate minimum wages

Podkrepa President said that he main challenge at the moment is the incorporation into Bulgarian legislation of the requirements of the European directive on adequate minimum wages and collective bargaining. “It is an area in which we are extremely behind and have missed all deadlines,” Manolov said.

Manolov said that Podkrepa hosted the entire process in an effort to respond to the requirements, but the objective had not been achieved. According to him, the search for consensus will continue. Manolov expressed hope that discussions on the directive and its implementation in Bulgarian legislation will take place.

He described as a good idea the proposal that the minimum wage should temporarily be set at half of the average wage, but clarified that this should change in the long term.

Budget and euro area

According to Manolov, it is a challenge that the state started the new year with a so-called extended budget, which, in his view, has resulted in a lost year of development against the background of Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area.

There are too many systems dependent on the budget – municipalities, railway and urban transport, among others, Manolov said. One of the sectors suffering from the lack of a regular budget is culture, he added. According to him, minimal funds were needed to address the underfunding of libraries, galleries, community centres, theatres and others.

If the budget is adopted in the middle of the year, some issues could be corrected, and the budgets for the current and the following year should be discussed simultaneously, Manolov said.

Regarding the introduction of the euro, Manolov believes that there could have been better public information about the process and a smoother transition.

Pension System and Labour Market

According to Manolov, discussions on the state of the pension system are also ahead. In this context, he recalled that Podkrepa does not support the proposed amendments to the Social Insurance Code concerning the second pension pillar, which introduce multi-funds.

Formally there will be an option to choose, but in practice this will not happen. More than 80% of those insured in the second pillar did not choose their pension fund themselves but were allocated administratively, Manolov said, citing part of the union’s arguments. “I am in favour of supplementary pension insurance, but it must be fair and in the interest of the insured persons,” he commented.

According to Manolov, the pension system still has unresolved problems. He gave the example of the minimum pension. There is not a single minimum pension that is not subsidized by the State. “For years I have insisted on a mathematical link between the minimum wage and the minimum pension, so that a person who has paid social security contributions throughout their working life on the minimum wage receives a real minimum pension,” he said. A pension should replace labour income, not be a form of social assistance, Podkrepa President explained.

Regarding the idea of guaranteeing the Christmas and Easter pension supplements by law, Manolov said it has already become a tradition for this support to be provided before the two major holidays, and he does not expect it to be discontinued, which would necessitate its inclusion in legislation.

Manolov also commented on proposed amendments to the Labour Migration and Labour Mobility Act. According to him, the proposal to increase quotas for workers from third countries should not be developed in the way currently suggested. There are more than one and a half million people of working age in Bulgaria who are not employed. Reserves should be sought within this group, Manolov explained. Importing labour is an easy solution, but only in the short term, he added.