site.btaLabour Minister Gutsanov: Workers' Rights Were Not Given Freely and Today We Celebrate This Battle

On International Workers Day, Labour and Social policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov appealed to Bulgarians to not give up on the rights that generations before them fought for. “Workers' rights were not given freely and today we celebrate this battle. Let us show respect by protecting them. Because they are for us,” Gitsanov said.

The Minister's address was published on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

He noted that he has celebrated this day for 35 years, but that this year it is more special to him due to his position as Labour Minister. 

“Adequate income from decent and valued work is the best way to combat inequalities, both at the national and regional levels,” the Minister of Labour and Social Policy pointed out.

“Three months or a hundred days [since taking office] is not a long time, but we have taken the first steps. We have resumed the dialogue between trade unions and businesses in search of a solution for determining adequate minimum wages. A review of the various training courses that the Ministry provides has begun in order to improve their effectiveness and make them truly useful to people and businesses that need staff,” noted Gutsanov.

He stressed that safety at the workplace and compliance with labour rights is of essential importance and pointed out that in the first quarter of the year, over 13,000 inspections were carried out, during which 914 cases of work without an employment contract were identified. “The state must show zero tolerance for the use of undeclared labor and disregard for safety rules,” he also stated.

Minister Gutsanov will celebrate International Workers’ Day in Varna.