site.btaUPDATED Public-Service Media Staffers Block Traffic to Press for Pay Rise

Disgruntled journalists set up a "protest studio", blocking traffic on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard in central Sofia on Thursday morning to press demands for a pay rise in the three Bulgarian public-service media: the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

The action was part of a protest staged by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) behind the National Assembly building, mottoed "We Want Tangible Pay Rise by 2025 Budget". It was timed in with the conclusive plenary debate and vote on the 2025 National Budget Bill, scheduled for Thursday

BTA staffer Nikolay Trifonov said that the public-service media should have budgets as a fixed percentage of the gross domestic product in order to guarantee a pay rise every year. "A 5% increase is too little," he said, referring to the provision for public sector salaries in the draft budget. Trifonov backs the idea of BTA Director General Kiril Valchev that average salaries in the public-service media should be upped to reach the level of teachers' salaries, which would translate as 125% of the national average wage.

"Two years ago we were here. The situation is the same again as the BNR budget is neglected," said Adriana Kiselincheva, who chairs the Union of Bulgarian Journalists (UBJ) local in the National Radio's Horizont Programme. "I hope that the MPs will hear us, we expect BGN 5 million to be added to the budget of the national radio so that salaries in the station can be raised by 10%," she added, noting that this percentage is still low considering the generally low pay level there.

"Without journalists there is no truth, there is no news," said CITUB Vice President Todor Kapitanov. The UBJ recalled that they are demanding an extra BGN 3 million leva for BTA, BGN 5 million for BNR, and BGN 8 million for BNT. This would allow pay rises of 15%, 15% and 20%, respectively.

For his part, CITUB Vice President Ognyan Atanasov entered Parliament building and handed MPs leaflets spelling out the demands for pay rises in public-sector agencies, ministries, companies and media. "We insist on an aggregate budget increase of BGN 250 million," he said. He described as "a mockery" the proposed 5% rise, noting the significant pay gap between the private and the public sector.

Open Letter to Ranking Lawmakers

Several days ago, the trade union locals at BTA sent an open letter to National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova, Culture and Media Committee Chair Toshko Yordanov and Budget and Finance Committee Chair Delyan Dobrev, insisting on the budgeting of funds for decent pay at the national news agency.

"In the case of BTA, the required funding, inclusive of employer-paid social-security contributions, approximates BGN 3 million, in addition to the BGN 612,100 in the draft budget for a 5% pay rise," the letter reads.

The tradeunionists recall that by rescheduling payments for licences and disk space alone in 2025, BTA is saving BGN 3.6 million in the current budget, which is more than the funds needed to level staffers' pay with teachers' salaries. "Most of the BTA staff are based in Sofia where, according to the National Statistical Institute (NSI), the average gross monthly wage for 2024 was BGN 3,451. The average salary at BTA is far below this level," the open letter argues.

"Also according to NSI, the average gross monthly salary of persons working under an employment relationship in the economic area of Publishing, Broadcasting, and Content Production and Distribution Activities for 2024 exceeded BGN 5,100, topping BGN 5,500 in December 2024. This is more than double the average salary at the national news agency," the trade union locals pointed out.

"BTA keeps the public impartially and comprehensively informed of the activities of all central and local government institutions and covers all social processes in this country. BTA does not circulate commercial communications and propaganda, does not serve political interests, and its staffers are narrowly specialized in their specific fields. Over the years, BTA has proved that it rightfully belongs among the leading institutions in Bulgaria and enjoys broad confidence," the letter reads further.

"We, the agency employees, are unanimous that our work needs to be remunerated adequately. We trust that you will take into consideration the arguments we list above, which are only part of the reasons for writing this letter, and that you will back our demand. We declare our readiness to join the protests of our colleagues of BNT and BNR," the open letter concludes.