site.btaMarch 13, 1973: Five-Day Workweek Decreed in Bulgaria

On March 13, 1973, Bulgaria started transitioning from a six-day to a five-day workweek. The Council of Ministers and the Central Council of Bulgarian Trade Unions issued a decree introducing reduced working hours and a five-day workweek during the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-1975). 

The move was part of a package of labour and social reforms aimed at improving workers' conditions and aligning Bulgaria with labour policies in other socialist countries. The transition was phased in by 1974. The shortened working hours were seen as a way to boost productivity while improving workers' well-being. It reflected broader trends within the Eastern Bloc, where governments were attempting to balance economic output with social welfare.

This decree was also intended to attain the broader objectives of the Sixth Five-Year Plan, which focused on modernizing industries, improving efficiency, and raising living standards. The switch to a five-day workweek was considered a major step toward improving the quality of life for Bulgarian workers.

Here is what BTA wrote, in part, in a story on the 1973 decree:

"The Council of Ministers and the Central Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions express full confidence that the working people will further expand the nationwide socialist emulation to fully identify and tap reserves, promote and widely implement leading practices and national initiatives, further increase public labour productivity, meet and exceed the targets of the state plans and the do-better counter plans for 1973 and the Sixth Five-Year Plan, and build the developed socialist society in the People's Republic of Bulgaria."