site.btaPodkrepa Labour Confederation Insists Poverty Line to Be Adjusted to Inflation

The Podkrepa Labour Confederation insists on making the necessary changes in the Methodology for Determining the poverty line for Bulgaria, so that it can be updated in line with inflation, the trade union said in a statement, issued Wednesday, in connection with a bill of the Council of Ministers on the estimation of the poverty line for 2024. The proposal sets the poverty line for 2024 at BGN 526. For 2023 it was set at BGN 504. 

"It is obvious that the data is irretrievably outdated. Inflation in 2022 was 15.3%, with food reaching 22%, and in 2023 the prices of goods and services continue to rise," Podkrepa argued.

The union recalled that the poverty line is the basis for determining financial support for people with disabilities, social benefits under the Social Assistance Act, and is also used to determine access to the social old-age pension.

Podkrepa's statement, signed by the trade union's President, Dimitar Manolov, was sent to the Commission on Income and Living Standards of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation.