State-owned companies report losses, but also director salaries of 20,000 leva.
“The salaries you show are extremely high. They are legal, but, as a politician said yesterday, they are not moral. He was talking about something else, but the same applies here. It is impossible for members of the management boards, general and executive directors to receive such salaries in loss-making companies, where people work under appalling working conditions and receive almost minimum wages. Not only is it not moral, but it is brutal. This must stop“. He commented on “This Morning“ on bTV, Minister of Transport Georgi Peev.
„There have been many declarations over the years by the previous government that they will reduce salaries and bring them into the necessary form, but so far nothing has been done. The current government has taken decisive measures to make salaries such that they correspond to the results achieved. A person must receive what is due to him in terms of the responsibility he bears and the results he achieves“, he pointed out.
„There is no way that such salaries can be received in enterprises that are practically bankrupt. BDZ has 135 million debts, and „BDZ - Freight Transport“ is facing de facto bankruptcy with over 60 million euros in debts“, the minister commented.
„We have set ourselves a clear deadline - by the end of this month. Salaries will be brought to the form they should be, and this will be clearly communicated to the public“, said Georgi Peev.
“This is a decision of the Council of Ministers. No member of the management board can receive more than the salary of the president. This does not mean that he will reach it. If there are no results in the enterprise, he should receive significantly less. The methodologies have been developed as follows – massively, everywhere, not only in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, that the members of the management boards receive the maximum permitted by law and the remuneration methodology“, commented the Minister,
„In the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the deadline is until the 21st of this month for the methodologies to be brought into the correct proportion, so that they are in line with the set goals and the achieved results.
You may know that when a management board, executive director or general director is appointed, this is done through a competition. A concept is presented at the competition. It states what the members of the management board and directors must do so that the enterprise develops well and sustainably“, pointed out Peev.
"You will be able to follow, by the way, the implementation of what I am saying. That is, from August 1 we will have new methodologies with new conditions. From then on, most likely from September, you will be able to track the difference in the statistics that you showed", the minister noted.
"Bulgarian roads are a battlefield"
„Bulgarian roads are a battlefield. The Prime Minister clearly said it yesterday at the meeting of the Council of Ministers. Let's start with the infrastructure and admit it once and for all - do we have highways in Bulgaria? We don't have highways. We have expressways. Whenever we go abroad, we admire the highways that other countries have built. That is, we don't have the necessary infrastructure", commented Georgi Peev.
„I am not an expert on guardrails, but as far as I hear, they are not in the best condition either. The sign system, the location of signs and restrictions are also not adequately and consistently organized.
Then let's look at the training of young drivers. Yes, some progress has been made in the theoretical part with the so-called “white rooms“, but the practical training itself remains a problem. We do not have training at polygons. It is there that practical skills should be developed – reaction to aquaplaning, mastering maneuvers and others“, the Minister of Transport commented.
In the EA “Automobile Administration“, which is under the Ministry of Transport, there are only 124 inspectors. They deal with road control, control of transport enterprises, driving schools and technical inspection points. And in the National Toll Administration there are 680 employees who stand in cars and monitor whether anyone has paid a vignette or toll fee“, commented Georgi Peev.
“In railway transport – things are tragic again“
“In rail transport – things are tragic again. In order to have an adequate railway system, there must be three simple things: good rolling stock – new and adequate, good infrastructure and trained and competent staff. We have wonderful employees, wonderful drivers who work in extremely difficult conditions, and for the added value they bring to the process, they receive miserable wages“, the minister pointed out.
“About 50% of the rolling stock, as I look at it, I think we are of a similar age – I am from the 70s and 80s of the last century. About 50% are not air-conditioned. 284 wagons are needed, and we have 266. Of these, only 113 are air-conditioned. Deutsche Bahn wagons - of those that are air-conditioned, operate up to 35 degrees. At the moment, tremendous efforts are being made – "new boards are being installed and technical solutions are being sought," Peev commented.
"More and more of them are starting to work because we have found a technical solution. New boards are being installed and, to our joy, those that have already been modernized in terms of air conditioning are not giving up. We do not have new rolling stock. The first part of the new Škoda and Alstom trains have arrived at the moment, but we are far from their operation.
That is, the total number - 20 Škoda and 35 Alstom, will not be enough to cover the needs of the sector. From now on, we must develop an adequate plan. I want to draw your attention and the viewers' attention to the fact that it cannot be implemented instantly and quickly, because people expect quick results. They are not interested in declarations, they are not interested in problems. They want to travel from point A to point B," commented the Minister of Transport.