site.btaTrade Unions, Ruling Parties Agree against Political Gambling with Pension System Reform

Trade Unions, Ruling Parties Agree against Political Gambling with Pension System Reform

Sofia, May 26 (BTA) - The trade unions and the ruling parties
agreed on Tuesday that there will be no political gambling with
a planned set of legislative changes concerning the pension
system reform. The agreement was reached during talks between
the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria
(CITUB), the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour and the
ruling-majority parties GERB, the Reformist Bloc and the
Patriotic Front. The unions will also hold talks with the other
parliamentary forces.

"We found that there was no unnecessary noise about the great
amount of work which was accomplished, and therefore the
possibility of populism was limited," GERB Floor Leader Tsvetan
Tsvetanov told journalists in Parliament. Tsvetanov said that
the changes in the pension system proposed by the Council of
Ministers will be sustainable and not too hard on the people,
but still there are matters which remain to be discussed after
the package is submitted to Parliament.

Podkrepa President Dimiter Manolov said that not just the
current government, but also previous ones have contributed to
the proposals. The real reform of supplementary compulsory
pension insurance is yet to be completed, Manolov said.

CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov said that the unions have agreed
to a compromise about the proposed legislation, hoping that
some outstanding issues will be addressed between the first and
second readings of the proposals in Parliament. These issues
concern workers in the heavy industry. The important thing is
that the planned changes provide for a gradual increase in
pensions by at least 40 per cent over the next 10 years,
Dimitrov said. The inclusion of the security sector in the
reform scheme was particularly important, he noted.

Dimitrov added that there is another big question which needs to
be addressed: disability pensions and the development of the
second pillar of the pension system.