Bulgarian trade union leader Dimitar Manolov of the Podkrepa confederation has criticized the proposed 2026 budget as inequitable, warning that labor actions will escalate if worker demands go unmet. Employees from the National Social Insurance Institute and National Statistical Institute staged walkouts demanding pay raises, while the agriculture, forestry, and healthcare sectors plan demonstrations.
Manolov highlighted stark salary disparities, noting that compensation for identical roles across Bulgaria's 302 central administrative bodies varies by up to five times. He condemned outsized pay packages for fiscal oversight bodies and pointed to structural funding inefficiencies where social security contributions merely circulate within government accounts.
The union chief attacked the pension indexation mechanism, arguing it ties increases to inflation rather than social security revenue growth, systematically depressing retirement benefits. Authorities have ignored the demonstrations, prompting Manolov to signal that strikes may follow, despite his stated reluctance to pursue that tactic.
Manolov highlighted stark salary disparities, noting that compensation for identical roles across Bulgaria's 302 central administrative bodies varies by up to five times. He condemned outsized pay packages for fiscal oversight bodies and pointed to structural funding inefficiencies where social security contributions merely circulate within government accounts.
The union chief attacked the pension indexation mechanism, arguing it ties increases to inflation rather than social security revenue growth, systematically depressing retirement benefits. Authorities have ignored the demonstrations, prompting Manolov to signal that strikes may follow, despite his stated reluctance to pursue that tactic.
