site.btaConsensus on Minimum Wage Must Be Reached, Social Minister Gutsanov Says

The decision on the minimum wage must be reached by consensus, Social Minister Borislav Gutsanov said at his meeting with the social partners, the Social Ministry's press centre announced on Friday. The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy is the mediator in the negotiations between the trade unions and the employers and will make every effort to achieve complete agreement on the issue and not to have to impose a solution.

“The big issue we have to resolve is the transposition of the directive on adequate minimum wages for workers in the European Union,” the Minister said. He pointed out that the minimum wage cannot be lower than the present-day level of BGN 1,077. Gutsanov added that in determining the minimum wage there should be a balance, it should ensure a basic standard of living, but it should also correspond to productivity growth.

"I will make every effort to achieve an agreement and to submit a consensus draft to the National Assembly. In case no agreement is reached between the social partners, the state will step in," the Minister added. 

Next year’s minimum wage cannot be lower than this year’s, Minister Gutsanov said in parliament in early May. He expressed belief that a solution will be found. “An understanding must be reached between trade unions and employers on how exactly the minimum wage should be determined, there has to be predictability,” Gutsanov added.