site.btaPodkrepa Confederation to Stage National Protest on November 27 over Sick Leave Pay, Independent Trade Unions Confederation on Strike Alert

November 23 (BTA) - On November 27, the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour will stage a national protest rally and procession mottoed "Sick Workers Are No Criminals," it transpired from a Podkrepa Facebook post on Saturday. The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) will not protest on the date but remains on a strike alert.

Podkrepa will insist that the practice in Bulgaria should be aligned with the European, with employers paying at least for the first five days of a sick leave, covering 100 per cent of the labour remuneration during that period, the Confederation's economic advisor Vanya Grigorova said.

Under the effective arrangements, employers pay 70 per cent of the labour remuneration for the first three days of the paid sick leave. The rest of the period is covered by compulsory sickness insurance. On November 14, it was announced that GERB and the United Patriots had agreed on a reform of sick leave pay as from January 1, 2020, the first day becoming unpaid and the second and third pay being paid, as before, by the employers. The proposal, apparently prompted by the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association as a measure to deter rampant abuse, triggered an angry reaction from the unions, and Prime Minister Boyko Borissov promised that the motion will not be laid before Parliament.

Other grievances that Podkrepa will air on November 27 include scrapping the income tax on the minimum wage, an urgent raise of the night work supplement from the present 0.25 leva/hour, and limiting overtime.

The CITUB specified to BTA that they will wait and see what proposal will be tabled at the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) on sick leave pay and combating abuse and whether any changes will be proposed after the budget has been adopted. If the proposals at the NCTC provide a cause for protest, the CITUB will stage a national protest rally.

Both the trade unions and the employers demand a NCTC meeting, and it will be called, judging from statements by Borissov and Labour and Social Policy Minister Bisser Petkov. A date for a meeting, however, has yet to be set.