site.btaEmployers Believe Constitutional Court Should Pronounce Itself on Lengh-of-Service Payment

Sofia, October 5 (BTA) - The employers have appealed to the social partners to petition jointly the Constitutional Court on the length-of-service payment, Bulgarian Industrial Association Deputy Chairman Dimiter Brankov and Podkrepa Labour Confederation Economic Advisor Vanya Grigorova said. They took part in a meeting of the Commission on Income and Living Standards with the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation. The employers' demand to remove the length-of-service payment from the agenda of the latest meeting of the Tripartite Council because it was not considered in advance within the commissions.

The employers argue that the payment of labour should be regulated by the legislation and not by an ordinance, regulation or the like, Brankov said. In his opinion only the Constitutional Court is competent to pronounce itself on the matter.

Grigorova presented the position of the trade unions and the government that the payment should not be removed, that it is not discriminatory or anti-constitutional.

According to Podkrepa, the employers have no economic arguments in support of their allegation that the payment should be removed. Several months ago they claimed that the costs on this payment account for around 12 per cent of the labour costs, which is not true, Grigorova said adding that the real figure is around 1.5 - 2.5 per cent.

She also refuted the employers' allegation that this payment has no analogue in the other European countries and said that there is a similar supplement to the salary in Croatia, Slovenia and France.