The Cabinet approved the new formula for calculating the minimum wage. According to the mechanism, it is expected that in 2027 it will be between 620.20 euros and 672.80 euros.
However, the final amount of the minimum wage is controversial, and the decision will not be made soon. Employers and unions have different expectations about the amount of the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage is 620 euros. If we calculate the expected minimum and maximum amount of the lowest wage next year, we get a difference of 52 euros. Money that is extremely important to Malina Dimitrova.
“The first thing is to pay your bills, to buy your medicine. In the village, we buy food here and there, we buy fruit, we look after some animals, but it's still not enough. You can't afford anything else, not even to go on vacation, you can rarely even afford to buy clothes for these 600 euros“, says Malina Dimitrova, a hygienist.
The new formula for the minimum wage has been adopted by the Council of Ministers, but it still has to go through parliament for a vote by the deputies. Only then will the minimum wage for 2027 be determined.
At the same time, the Minister of Finance instructed the ministries to prepare their budgets for next year with a minimum wage of 660 euros.
“This is the number that is clearly acceptable given the budget's capabilities“, says Maria Mincheva from the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber.
Employers support the new formula.
“The idea with the changes is to reflect several factors that affect the level of pay. Both wage growth and their distribution, inflation and long-term productivity. The combination of these factors gives the upper threshold“, commented Maria Mincheva from the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber.
The unions recall that a worker who receives a minimum wage cannot save and his funds are immediately returned to the economy.
“These people do not save a single euro. This is not static money for us to tax or seize“, says Lyuboslav Kostov from the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions.
There is also another conditionality – a month ago the Ombudsman referred the matter to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of the current salary formula. Unofficially, its decision is expected in the middle of this month.
“If paragraph 46 is repealed, it means that we have to apply the old text, which gave a minimum wage of 692 euros from January 1“, says Lyuboslav Kostov from the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions.
However, business does not believe that there is an option to return to the already repealed old calculation mechanism. And the new one stipulates that every year the government must propose the corresponding amount of remuneration after consultations with the social partners.
Every three years, an assessment of the adequacy of the minimum wage will also be made.