site.btaTrade Union of Prison Officers Demands Pay Rise from New Justice Minister

The trade union of prison officers in Bulgaria has reminded the new Minister of Justice that it wants an increase in salaries and improved working conditions in the ministry. In a letter to Georgi Georgiev, also received by the BTA, the trade union expressed the hope that he would "behave differently from his predecessors of the last few regular and caretaker governments".

The trade union pointed out that the previous caretaker ministers had talked a lot about the importance of social dialogue and the role of employees in the two directorates, but in practice they had done the opposite. The union stressed that working conditions, especially those of prison staff, have become even "more undignified" in recent years. Attacks on staff, including union representatives, gruelling shifts and the emergency situation of working with fewer supervisory and security staff found in recent years are just some of the problems, the letter added.

The union also stressed that the security sector is in crisis, accompanied by a decline in confidence in institutions. The organization calls for immediate action on salary increases in line with legislation, stressing that it will react strongly in the event of "hazardous and inexplicable decisions" and will not accept any accusations of attempted destabilization. At the beginning of November, the General Directorate of Penal Enforcement Employees' Trade Union also expressed disagreement about the lack of an official position from the competent authorities regarding the salary increase in the security sector.