site.btaUPDATED Social Partners Fail to Agree on Minimum Wage Increase from July 1

The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation of the government, unions and employers failed to reach an agreement on a bill amending the Labour Code, submitted by MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), which concerns an increase in the minimum wage from July 1, 2023 instead of January 1, 2024, caretaker Prime Minister for Social Policies and Minister of Labour and Social Policy Lazar Lazarov said Tuesday after the Council's meeting. 

According to the proposal, the minimum wage to be set by the government by May 31 and to be applied from July 1, 2023, and the minimum wage should become BGN 850-890. The explanatory memorandum of the bill recalls a mechanism introduced by BSP for Bulgaria to set the minimum wage at 50% of the average gross wage for a period of 12 months, which includes the last two quarters of the previous year and the first two quarters of the current year.

The trade unions were in favour of the proposal, the employers and the government were against. 

Lazarov said that his side does not support pre-emptive action in relation to the pressures on public finances and public systems in this situation. He noted that the caretaker cabinet cannot take such actions that have a long-term effect on the budget systems.

Representatives of employers' organisations also opposed the bill. The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association said that they do not support a rise in the minimum wage from July 1, arguing that such amendments to the Labour Code do not meet the requirements of the legislation.

Podkrepa Confederation of Labour and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) supported the proposed bill, their representatives said that the proposed mid-year increase would reduce the pressure that would be received in January 2024. They are of the opinion that the current minimum wage level of BGN 780 is very low.