site.btaLabour Minister: Court's Decision to Annul New Minimum Wage Will Be Appealed

Labour Minister: Court's Decision to Annul New Minimum Wage Will Be Appealed

Sofia, May 26 (BTA) - The Supreme Administrative Court's (SAC) decision from last week to annul a government ordinance setting the minimum wage for 2017 at 460 leva will be appealed, said here on Friday Labour and Social Policy Minister Bisser Petkov. He took part in a forum on social protection and the role of the social partners, organized by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Minister Petkov said that there are arguments, which will be presented during the appeal, and in the meantime consultations will start on Cabinet's draft ordinance about the amount of the monthly minimum wage, which is already published for public discussion.

The minimum wage ordinance was challenged by four employer organizations which claimed that the lawful procedure was violated because the minimum wage was set without preliminary consultations.

According to Petkov, immediately after SAC's decision was announced, the Government took measures to start consultations on adopting the minimum wage draft ordinance.

The second instance court's decision, which is yet to come, will be final, the Minister said, adding that the big question pertains to negotiating the minimum wage's mechanism, which is also what the European Commission recommended.

He explained that he has not given up on seeking consensus between the social partners for negotiating such a mechanism, despite their differences.

According to Petkov, there won't be drama if such a consensus is not reached, because the Government has already set out in its med-term budget forecast how it sees the minimum wage growth during its term, by leaving the door open with a clause, according to which the proposed minimum wage amounts will be subject to change in the event a mechanism is negotiated.