Unions threaten protests unless salaries rise by 10%

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) is demanding a pay rise of at least 10 per cent for all state employees in 2025, and a bigger increase in incomes in the education, health and interior sectors.

In Burgas, union leader Plamen Dimitrov stated that the proposed increase was possible if the state budget was well balanced. If there is no pay rise, mass protests are expected in many sectors - schools and higher education, agriculture, culture, health, etc., Dimitrov added.

The country's other main union, Podkrepa, said today that the number of so-called 'working poor' in the country had risen by 50% in recent years, from 8% to almost 12%.