site.btaGovernment, Employers, Unions Discuss Minimum Wage for 2025

The government's proposal to set the minimum wage for 2025 at BGN 1,077, up from BGN 933 now, is on the agenda of Friday's meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC). Thus the minimum wage will rise by 15.4% as of January 1, 2025.

Caretaker Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivaylo Ivanov said in his presentation the net income of minimum wage earners will reach BGN 835.73 a month. According to him, labour supply will surge, which in turn will boost the competitiveness of enterprises.

The size of the minimum wage has an effect on the wages set for a large segment of employees, Ivanov said.

He recalled that under the Labour Code, the minimum wage for the next year is 50% of the average gross wage over a 12-month period which includes the last two quarters of the previous year and the first two quarters of the current year.

The minimum wage increase by BGN 144 will raise the motivation of the lowest income segment of the labour force to seek work, enter and stay in the labour market, according to the Labour and Social Policy Ministry. The increase will also raise living standards, reduce the risk of in-work poverty and income inequality, and boost domestic demand.

Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova said the NCTC's Commission on Income and Living Standards discussed the proposal but did not reach agreement. The Finance Ministry has approved the financial reasoning behind the proposal.