Increasing the salaries of the state administration is like a feast during the plague

On 29 August, Saturday, an “emergency” meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) was held in violation of all rules and deadlines for convening and conducting NCTC meetings. Written information about this meeting was received by the social partners on Friday, 28 August, at 19:30 hrs, and the meeting was scheduled for the next day at 14:00 hrs with the following agenda:

• Draft Law for amendment and supplement of the Law on the National Health Insurance Fund Budget for 2020;
• Draft Law for amendment and supplement of the Law on the Public Social Insurance Budget for 2020;
• Draft Decree of the Council of Minister supplementing the Ordinance on the salaries of state administration employees.

These issues are of significant strategic importance. It is well known that the role of the NCTC is corrective on the part of the social partners, but the provided time of less than 24 hours, on a weekend day no less, is unacceptable*. BCCI can in no way accept the NCTC to be reduced to a formal structure, without being able by participating in it to protect the interests of its members. The fact that the issues are urgent should in no way limit the ability of the social partners to make their own analyses, impact assessments and thus to perform their functions, goals and tasks properly.

It is clear to everyone that the ruling coalition is "doing what is necessary" to win more votes in the upcoming elections, but burdening the budget with additional costs, including for unlawful increase of the salaries of the bloated state administration, without a working electronic government, without reducing the administrative apparatus and obviously without assessing the impact, and endangering the entire state budget in the conditions of suspended growth of the Bulgarian economy, closure of enterprises, bankruptcy of companies and shrinking international markets due to the COVID-19 crisis and protectionist policies, can be defined as a feast during the plague.

BCCI reserves the right, after the usual consultations with its members, to provide a detailed position on the issues raised, including by disputing the decisions of the irregularly convened meeting of the NCTC.

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* The Secretary of the NCTC notifies the members of the council at least 7 working days in advance of the date and time of the meeting, sending them the agenda and materials on it. In the cases under Art. 9, para 3, sentence two, the agenda and the materials on it shall be sent no later than 2 working days before the meeting.