site.btaOmbudsman, Trade Union Put Forward Legal Revisions against Exploitation of Workers

Ombudsman, Trade Union Put Forward Legal Revisions against Exploitation of Workers

Sofia, April 20 (BTA) - Ombudsman Maya Manolova and the President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), Plamen Dimitrov, submitted on Thursday a set of proposals for revisions to seven laws to counter exploitation of workers in Bulgaria.

On Friday the Ombudsman will submit a constitutional appeal against an article of the Labour Code, according to which in the case of financial difficulties employers may pay their workers up to 60 per cent of their due remuneration.

To date there are 20 cases of malpractice and exploitation of workers in Bulgaria, Manolova specified. Most of these are in tailoring and mining. In all of the cases the workers were left to fend for themselves, the state and incorrect employers went into hiding, while institutions just shrug, explaining that nothing can be done, the Ombudmsan explained. The regularly unpaid salaries registered by the Chief Labour Inspectorate range between 30 and 70 million leva, Dimitrov added.

That is why the trade union and the Ombudsman suggest that workers should be given the opportunity to launch bankruptcy proceedings when their employers are insolvent and have not taken such steps. The condition is two unpaid salaries.

The receivables of the workers should rank first among those of the privileged creditors so that they can be repaid when the property of the employers is sold, other revisions provide. The proposals also include a ban on companies that have not paid salaries and social insurance to participate in public procurement procedures as contractors and subcontractors.

Manolova and Dimitrov have also planned amendments to the Act to Guarantee Receivables of Workers and Employees from Companies in Bankruptcy because they say the Receivables Guarantee Fund exists formally. Last year it paid 2.0 million leva to just 250 recipients, considering that over 250 million leva have been collected to that end and its purpose is not just to collect and manage these funds. It also has to support and indemnify workers in the cases when their employers are insolvent, Manolova said.

There are also proposals for expanding the control authority of the Chief Labour Inspectorate, according to which it may also inspect companies after labour contracts with workers have been dissolved.

Both Manolova and Dimitrov do not see any sense in a parliamentary enquiry committee investigating the cases of unpaid salaries and incorrect employers, as suggested by the Bulgarian Socialist Party.