site.btaRuling Coalition Submits Joint Bill on Medical Professionals' Pay

A joint bill amending the Medical Establishments Act was submitted to the National Assembly by GERB-UDF, BSP - United Left, and There Is Such a People on July 18. The proposed amendments aim to regulate the pay of medical professionals working in hospitals. The draft legislation has been published on Parliament's website.

Earlier this month, Continue the Change tabled draft amendments to the same Act to guarantee fair pay for young medical professionals in medical establishments for which 50% of revenues come from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the state or municipal budget. The revisions have been drafted based on the proposal of young doctors, presented to MPs at a roundtable in Parliament on July 2. 

The proposal by GERB-UDF, BSP - United Left, and There Is Such a People sets minimum pay standards for staff in hospitals funded by the NHIF and the state budget. The base monthly salary for each job category must not be lower than that outlined in the current collective labour agreement. If there is no active agreement, the salary must be at least equal to the last one, adjusted for how much the average wage in the country has increased during that time, based on official data from the National Statistical Institute.

The draft also includes additional pay of no less than 3% of the base salary for those with job-related professional qualifications, as certified by an official document. Night shift work would also be compensated at no less than 0.5% of the national minimum wage per hour worked or part thereof.

Medical professionals working under reduced hours, as regulated by Article 137 of the Labour Code, may work in shifts. The maximum shift length under aggregated working time conditions may reach up to 12 hours, regardless of the reduced schedule. 

Hospital directors or managers who fail to comply with these pay requirements would face fines of BGN 15,000, rising to BGN 30,000 for repeat offences.

The draft proposes removing a provision from the Health Insurance Act that requires National Framework Agreements to include rules on the wages of hospital medical staff, ensuring their pay is no less favourable than what is set in the collective labour agreement for the healthcare sector.

The Executive Agency for Medical Supervision is envisaged to supervise compliance with the minimum wage requirements.