site.btaInternational Conference on Preventing Abuse of Mobile Workers' Rights Held in Sofia

An international conference here on Friday looked at the prevention and fight against abuse of mobile workers' rights. The event was organized within the Working Programme for Cooperation with Germany in the Field of Labour and Social Policy for the 2023-2024 period, the Labour Ministry said in a press release. 

Attending the conference were Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Nataliya Efremova, German Ambassador to Bulgaria Irene Maria Plank, and Rolf Schmachtenberg, Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, among others. The participants discussed the guarantee through joint actions of safe and healthy work conditions in construction, transport, and local industry. Also discussed were joint initiatives of the control institutions for the observation of labour legislation, as well as the improvement of workers' access to information about their labour and social rights.

In her address, Efremova said that her Ministry prioritizes the provision of decent work and social security for all workers, including mobile and seasonal ones. "With joint efforts we succeeded in achieving visible results in protecting their rights and the fight against human trafficking for labour exploitation," she noted. In her words, Germany is a country that, according to statistical data, has the highest number of Bulgarian nationals living and working there. "Thanks to the cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, we have the opportunity to provide a more effective protection of the labour and social rights of Bulgarians working in Germany," Efremova told the forum.

Earlier on Friday, the Chief Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency reported that Bulgarian labour inspectors had participated as observers in joint checks in the area of Essen, Germany. The focus of the inspection was the payment of minimum wages. The initiative was held with the support of the European Labour Authority.