site.btaCITUB Proposes Measure in Support of Companies with Reduced Sales to Tackle Layoffs

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the empoyers' organisations propose the introduction of a mechanism to support companies in times of fall of sales in order to preserve employment levels, CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov told Nova TV on Sunday.

In Dimitrov's words, over the past year, there are economic processes that politicians do not notice. "Germany and our other leading economic partners are in recession, which leads to a growing problem among Bulgarian companies - a fall of orders and sales, and thus - to layoffs of workers," he said. In order to avoid mass redundancies, CITUB and the employers' organisations propose a measure similar to the 60/40 measure which was introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, whereby after companies have proved a drop in orders and sales would receive financial support to keep their workers employed. The social partners propose that the measure is funded from the unemployment fund, Dimitrov explained.

According to him, there are problems in heavy industry, engineering, chemical industry, in the production of medicines.

Commenting on the government’s proposal to set the poverty line in Bulgaria at BGN 638 as of January 2025, the President of CITUB said that the unionists will support it, but will ask for a change of methodology for the restoration of the inflation adjustment tool (based on the small consumer basket), taking into consideration the EU-SILC data for the poverty line.