site.btaUPDATED Ambulance Drivers Protest for Higher Pay

The basic salary of ambulance drivers should become BGN 1,400, protesters organized by the Zashtita [Protection] trade union demanded on Tuesday. The protest in front of the Health Ministry was joined by workers from emergency medical centers and branches in Vidin, Pazardzhik and Sofia.

Protestors complained that the majority of them are paid BGN 1,000 a month.

We demand that the drivers' salaries be increased, as they are currently roughly equal to the salaries of hospital orderlies, said Zashtita leader Krasimir Mitov.

In his words, it is unclear how the roughly BGN 40 million provided for emergency medical care centres, have been allocated.

After a meeting with the Minister of Health on March 20, Mitov said that Bulgarian emergency medical care centres had received increased funds for salaries, but not enough, with drivers being the most disadvantaged. In response to a question about the decisions taken during the meeting, Mitov pointed out that "the main argument is that as long as there is no budget, wages cannot be increased."

Due to the political crisis, the caretaker government did not submit to the legislature a budget for 2023 and any government spending now is based on the 2022 budget. The caretaker government is preparing to submit a budget as soon as a new Parliament is formed after the April 2 snap general elections.

He said that during the meeting it was suggested that the ambulance services seek funding for drivers' pay from the municipal authorities.

According to Mitov, ambulance drivers are in the worst position wage-wise.

Regarding the increase of ambulance driver monthly wages to BGN 1,400, the Ministry of Health said that the remuneration policy is a State policy, and according to the current law, until the adoption of this year's State Budget Act, the basic salary levels reached as of December 31, 2022 in the budget organizations may not be reduced or increased within the position held. 

The Ministry stressed that its powers are mainly in relation to general principles related to the pay policy in the sector, and all specific cases related to the relationship between employer and employee are subject to regulation at enterprise level (in this case the Emergency Centres). The Minister of Health implements the policy related to the formation of minimum wage rates in the healthcare sector through the Health Sectoral Tripartite Council and the signing of a Collective Agreement for the sector.