ABEO and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy discussed the EU Minimum Wage Directive and labor market problems
The Association of Bulgarian Employers' Organizations (ABEO) held a meeting with the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov on income policy in Bulgaria, the determination of the minimum wage (MW), the labor market and labor immigration. The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Lazar Lazarov.
The representatives of the AOBR demanded adequate implementation of the European Union Minimum Wage Directive and repeal of Art. 244 of the Labor Code, which is in clear contradiction to both the Directive and ILO Convention 131. According to the AOBR, this article contradicts international law and takes into account a single indicator instead of at least four as written in the Directive. This calculation makes an error in measuring the ratio of Gross Average Wage to Basic Minimum Wage. This error amounts to 26%.
For the AOBR, the system currently leads to the strengthening of the gray sector, demotivation of workers and employees and flight of investors. Additionally, the representatives of employers in Bulgaria gave an example of the increase in wages in the budget sector, especially in the "Security" sector, which outpaces the growth of wages in the real sector three times. According to them, the minimum wage must slow down its growth, not just to catch up with that in the real sector, but so that we can even think about economic growth in the country. The currently implemented income policy leads to the bleeding of companies in the country, especially those operating outside the capital, said the AOBR.
Regarding the labor market and the facilitation of labor migration, the representatives of the AOBR requested the facilitation of procedures for the import of workers from third countries. Key issues were discussed, such as the lack of sufficient capacity in the country's consular services, which leads to delays in the import of workers in some cases of more than 9 months.
"I believe that we will find common ground and work successfully together. I am glad that you have placed the main emphasis on labor policies. You represent the backbone of the Bulgarian economy and without you it is unthinkable to talk about economic growth and progress of the country," said Minister Gutsanov.
He undertook to hold talks with the Ministers of Foreign and Interior Affairs regarding easing access to the labor market for workers from third countries and to raise the issue of the urgent need for human resources for Bulgarian companies at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers. According to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, in order to provide the necessary personnel for enterprises, it is extremely important to work in very close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science, vocational high schools and higher education institutions.
During the meeting, the strengthening and development of the capital pillars in the pension model and the introduction of multi-funds, abuse of disability pensions and fake sick leave, etc. were also discussed. The participants promised to hold regular meetings, with the next one scheduled for February. It will discuss in detail a mechanism for determining the minimum wage and easing access to the Bulgarian labor market.