site.btaPodkrepa Trade Union Does Not Support Easier Issuing of EU Blue Cards to Non-EU Nationals

Podkrepa Trade Union Does Not Support Easier Issuing of EU Blue Cards to Non-EU Nationals

Sofia, September 25 (BTA) - The Podkrepa Confederation of Labour
 does not support the proposed draft Council of Ministers decree
 which introduces a new Article 19a in the Ordinance on the
Conditions and Procedure for Issuing, Refusal and Withdrawal of
Work Permits for Foreigners in Bulgaria. The new text of the
ordinance provides for easier issuing of EU Blue Cards for work-
 and residence permits for professionally skilled, non-EU
nationals. The jobs are included in an isolated group of
occupations from the National Classification of Occupations,
Podkrepa stated in an opinion addressed to Deputy Prime Minister
 and Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivailo Kalfin, Deputy
Prime Minister and Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova, the
Chairman of the National Council for Promotion of Employment and
 the media.
        
Podkrepa does not think that the proposed employment of foreign
specialists with occupations for which there is a considerable
discrepancy between the demand and supply of workforce is the
right state policy to overcome the discrepancy, because the
conditions to apply such measures do not exist in Bulgaria.  The
 State first has to take measures to make working conditions
favourable to motivate them to remain in the country and look
for jobs on the Bulgarian labour market.
   
The employment of foreign specialists provided by the ordinance
related to occupations according to a certain list does not mean
 this will hinder the uncontrolled employment of citizens of
third countries, as the report of the Minister of Labour and the
 Minister of Interior claims, Podkrepa says.
       
The trade union also points out that the introduction of a
requirement for employment of no less than 12 months and for a
gross salary at least three times as high as the average salary
in Bulgaria, according to the data for the past 12 months before
 the conclusion of the labour contract, will not lead to longer
and equal employment, as the proposal claims. This only means
wage dumping as, in the IT sector, for example, the average
salary is higher, the trade union says.