site.btaTrade Unions Urge Talks on Living Wage

Trade unions on Friday called for a formula to calculate the living wage, the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. The unions expect more intensive tripartite dialogue on the matter. Improving the formula for the minimum wage should also be on the agenda, Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria Chief Economist Lyuboslav Kostov and Podkrepa Confederation of Labour Chief Economist Atanas Katsarchev told BTA on Friday.

The government has proposed a minimum monthly wage of BGN 1,077 in 2025, compared with the current BGN 933. The draft decree is up for public consultation until September 26. Under the Labour Code, next year the minimum wage should be 50% of the average gross wage based on a period of 12 months, including the second half of last year and the first half of this year.

Kostov said the International Labour Organization has reached agreement on the issue of the living wage. He said the living wage should be a reference value for setting the minimum wage. He urged a discussion with the Minister of Labour and Social Policy about the mechanism for setting the minimum wage over a long term and an algorithm for calculating the living wage. Kostov said the living wage should be announced by the National Statistical Institute.

He argued: "The minimum wage should come closer to the living wage with every passing year, so that there will be no 'working poor'. When the minimum wage equals the living wage, it is assumed that even people of low income earn enough to meet their basic needs such as food, electricity and water."

For his part, Katsarchev insisted that the minimum wage formula should include all elements defined in the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union, which should be transposed into national law by November 15. Katsarchev said: "We need to take the first steps in this direction. This is in the best interests of society."

He noted that the minimum wage in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU, which should change. "The minimum wage should be equivalent to the living minimum, and the living minimum should be free of tax," Katsarchev said. He predicted that the rise of the minimum wage will increase the number of workers and will boost domestic consumption.