site.btaLabour Minister Says Minimum Wage of Lv 650 and Average Wage of Lv 1,500 Are Realistic

Sofia, August 17 (BTA) - Labour and Social Policy Minister Bisser Petkov is adamant that a minimum monthly wage of 650 leva and 1,500 leva at the end of the life of this government is a very doable job. Petkov was taking a question from the press at a news conference he held to present the government priorities in the labour and social sector.

Among the priorities are increasing the incomes through higher employment and higher labour productivity, and improving the qualification of the workforce. The Minister commented that these goals follow the trends on the labour market.

According to Employment Agency figures, unemployment is 6.7 per cent and the total number of registered jobless people is around 220,000 which is as many as in June 2008 before the economic crisis.

The shortage of labour remains a problem, especially for qualified labour.

Of the 220,000 registered unemployed, some 120,000 have low qualification and it is exactly these people that the government considers a target. During the next four years, 50,000 unemployed people will be trained on funding from the national budget and at least 10,000 work-seekers and inactive people from vulnerable groups will be trained on funding from Operational Programme Human Development Resources.

The rules for issue of Blue Cards for highly qualified employees from third countries will be relaxed under bilateral agreements.

Just over 100 people have been registered so far. A working group is preparing legislative changes to streamline the issue of work permits. One option is to scrap the obligation for the Blue Card employee to leave the country as soon as the duration of the work permit expires. This will allow the person to seek extension of the employment. Another change that is considered is broadening the list of professions for which a Blue Card will be issued.

The Minister said that they have no plans to change the pension system parameters from what was established in 2015. The retirement age and length of service will remain unchanged.

The scrapping of the cap of new pensions, which is provided for by the Social Insurance Code, "will have to happen from the beginning of 2019", to use the Minister's words.

The pensions will increase not only due to the rising contributory income but also because of the increasing of the weight of the contributory service.

By the end of October, the Ministry will be ready with a concept for improving the evaluation of working capacity. A new social evaluation is in the pipeline which will take into consideration the individual needs of disabled people.

A new bill on integration of people with disability is also in the plans.

The mechanism for payment of targeted assistance for medical aids and products will also change.

Measures will be taken to ensure better work-life balance.

A new bill on child and family will be written; the adoption procedures will be streamlined by revisions to the family Code. A national adoptions register will be built as well as a register of people seeking to adopt a child. Prospective adopters will be assessed by a national board, which will streamline the current procedure in which this is done by regional boards.

The Minister said that if employers refuse to participate in the second round of talks on a national minimum wage (on August 23-25), the government in the face of the Minister will have to step in and set the minimum contributory income.