site.btaNational Social Insurance Institute Rejects Proposed Budget for Public Social Insurance

Sofia, October 23 (BTA) - The Supervisory Board of the National Social Insurance Institute (NSII) vote against the proposed 2018 Public Social Insurance Budget. The decision was announced by Supervisory Board chair Assya Goneva, Bulgarian Industrial Association Deputy Chair Dimiter Brankov and Podkrepa Labour Confederation leader Dimiter Manolov. The proposed budget failed to get the requisite votes at the Supervisory Board: half of the members plus one, and not all members were present, explained Goneva.

Podkrepa's Manolov supported the draft budget even though he said he would do the opposite on his way into the meeting.

Goneva, who is also Executive Secretary of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, explained her "against" vote with the numerous restrictions of which she mentioned those concerning sickness compensations, access to unemployment benefits and a too-small-increase of pensions.

The Podkrepa President, Dimiter Manolov, said that he was mad at the employers and yet he decided to back the proposed budget despite all the objections he had - with the hope that revisions will be made between first and second reading in Parliament.

Before the Supervisory Board meeting, he said the unions were displeased to see a proposed pensions increase by just 3.8 per cent, the changed rules for payment of sick leaves and others.

Dimiter Brankov of the Bulgarian Industrial Association said before the meeting that the employers were unhappy with the plans for an administrative increase of the minimum contributory income by 3.9 per cent and say there are other contentious issues as well, such as the refusal to define clear prospects for the Silver Fund, the payment of pensions from the private universal pension funds, the disability pensions and the re-formating of the disability evaluation system. "A lot of work which could have been done already, remains to be done," Brankov said.

The proposed budget of the Public Social Insurance is due to be considered by the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (of government, unions and employers) and then on to the government and Parliament.