The unions still have no target from the Minister of Finance to discuss the budget, said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio the leader of the "Podkrepa" Confederation of Trade Unions Dimitar Manolov.
"They will convene the National Trade Union Congress, they will offer us 3 fingers of paper, which we must have read. This is the first time we have such an absolute majority, and you know that I have a long experience in these things, I have seen a lot. I see that there are people who walk with two fingers above the ground and stand in heroic poses, which is a bad advisor. This should rather scare them, not encourage them," he explained.
In "Nedelya 150" the trade unionist commented on the actions of the government for the 2026 budget, the excessive procedure that the EC may impose on Bulgaria due to the deficit, salaries and the readiness of the trade unions for protests.
"Civil servants have long been paying their social security contributions, and the state is the importer. The bigger conversation begins - civil servants do not have the right to a second employment contract, a civil one, they do not have the right to develop a business activity and do not receive any bonuses and vouchers, they do not have the right to KTD. If we are going to do it like this, we remove one of the restrictions and civil servants become like all other citizens and we stop looking at them. The minister will definitely be reminded of this," said Dimitar Manolov.
He confirmed that the unions are ready for protests after the warning of the president of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions Plamen Dimitrov:
"Ours is certainly ready too. Some colleagues are radical, others are less radical, but they are still. We had a meeting the other day."
Manolov explained that the Wage Directive also includes provisions for Collective Bargaining (CBA).
"The CBA framework has been criticized a lot, we want to settle these issues in this procedure - civil servants are prohibited from concluding CBAs, which is a limitation for them. I have a somewhat radical view, I say - "let's repeal the Law on Settlement of Collective Labor Disputes and settle them like in the jungle", explained the unionist.
And he commented that the problem is that "we haven't yet come up with the formula for MHI and SRHI, our vision is that it should not be less than 55% of SRHI".
According to him, the maximum insurance thresholds are paradoxical, because the law says "the employer provides the employee with the real salary, but we legalized fraud – you can lie up to that much".
"Over 80% of the insurance thresholds are at the level of the current salary. Colleagues drew attention to the peculiar manager of "Lukoil". The vast majority of Bulgarian citizens must insure their entire income, while a portion is allowed a portion of their income, and this group includes the deputies. And this makes this conversation even more strange and eclectic. I have already wavered in my faith in democracy," admitted Dimitar Manolov.
And he shared that every day they learn different things from the Minister of Finance:
"We have neither met nor spoken, we are informed through you - the media. It is not uncommon for politicians to communicate with the public in this way - they throw out some things, listen to criticism and sometimes correct themselves."
The leader of the "Podkrepa" Coalition also commented on the 10% cuts in the state administration.