site.btaVarna University Library Director Doneva Highlights Bulgaria’s Early Labour Laws in Law Week Exhibition

Varna University of Economics Library Director Yana Doneva said Monday that 120 years ago, children aged 12 to 15 in Bulgaria were entitled to an 8-hour working day, while women, regardless of age, could work up to 10 hours a day.

Doneva made these remarks at the opening of the exhibition On the Path of Laws, which marks the beginning of the university’s annual Law Week.

Doneva noted that the Law on Women's and Children's Labour was introduced by decree of Ferdinand I in 1905. It also allowed children aged 10 to 12 to work, but only for 6 hours a day and under lighter conditions. Maternity leave was one month, unpaid, and women were permitted to return to work as early as the tenth day, with a doctor’s approval.

Night work was prohibited for both women and children. Doneva added that the 1905 law paved the way for Bulgaria’s first Labour Code, adopted in 1936.

The exhibition, which focuses on the history of labour legislation in Bulgaria, marks the start of Law Week at Varna University of Economics. Among the guests at the opening were Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov, Regional Governor Andriyana Andreeva, University Rector Evgeni Stanimirov, and Head of the Legal Sciences Department Galina Yolova.

Law Week will continue with a student scientific session, meetings between young people and judges and experts, and a visit to the Varna Regional Administration.