site.btaPlovdiv Regional Laboratory Employees Protest Against Low Salaries

Employees of the Plovdiv Regional Laboratory at the Environmental Executive Agency protested on Wednesday to demand wage increases and better working conditions.

"Our requests are for an increase in wages and a change in the regulations for categorizing our work, because we work in difficult conditions. We want reduced working hours. There is no response from the government, achieving our demands is difficult," said Georgi Matev, chief expert at the regional laboratory. He stressed that there are a lot of vacancies in the agency at the moment, but that there are no people willing to fill them.

The protesters also said they like their jobs and love the profession, but often have to work overtime without being compensated. "We are always available. The wages do not correspond to all this work and the skills we have", they pointed out.

The protesters were supported by Boyan Boykinski, Regional Coordinator of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria in Plovdiv, as well as by employees of the Basin Directorate Plovdiv, who protested on Tuesday. Boykinski pointed out that all protesters have the same demands, namely a retroactive wage increase by 30% from July 1, 2024 and a wage increase by another 15% from January 1, 2025. 

"It is insulting and humiliating for young people with a higher education degree to be paid slightly above the minimum wage for their skilled work. This is why yesterday's, today's and future warning actions will escalate into effective strike action if their demands are not heard and respected," Boykinski emphasised, adding that the protests in the cities of Burgas, Varna, Vratsa, Montana, Stara Zagora, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo, Haskovo, Pazardzhik and Sofia will be organized daily. "If by next week we see that our actions remain unnoticed, it will obviously be necessary to move on to effective strike actions", he stressed.