Trade unions and industrialists to skip protest against 2026 budget

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB/KNSB) and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) have announced that they will not be taking part in the 1 December protest against the 2026 state budget. They have described the demonstration as being politically motivated. These comments were made by CITUB leader Plamen Dimitrov and KRIB deputy chair Boyan Nikolayev in an interview with bTV.

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'We need to have a budget before Christmas and find solutions that the government has failed to deliver. We and businesses are offering possible solutions. The people protesting were demanding higher incomes and security. Some want compensation for rising shop prices; others oppose the dividend tax; and a third group is against the government,” said Dimitrov.

'We have to tackle the budget deficit. For now, we remain optimistic,’ said Nikolayev, who added that he opposes an increase in public-sector employment at a time of demographic decline.

Editor: Ivo Ivanov
Posted in English by E. Radkova