The new formula for determining the minimum wage is not good. This was stated by the President of the Confederation of Labour „Podkrepa“ Dimitar Manolov on the show “Offensive with Lyubo Ognyanov“.
“I am not optimistic that unions and employers will be able to reach a consensus that would lead to a minimum wage of and above 672 euros”, he explained.
Manolov specified that he personally did not participate in the negotiations and did not follow the discussions in detail, but according to him, “conceptual inaccuracies“ were allowed in the public comments of politicians.
According to him, until now the state and the government have had the authority to determine the amount of the minimum wage alone, while the unions have participated mainly as a consultative party.
The new model envisages that the unions and employers will first try to reach an agreement on the amount of the minimum wage. If no agreement is reached, the decision will remain in the hands of the government, which will have to determine the amount within the envisaged range.
Manolov described the methodology chosen by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy as inappropriate. One of his main criticisms is related to the inclusion of labor productivity as a factor in determining the minimum wage.
“I was very resistant to having labor productivity written inside“, said Manolov.
According to him, labor has a limited share in the final result of the production process and workers should not be blamed for all problems and failures in production.
According to him, there would be reason for labor productivity to be part of such a formula if workers also participated in the distribution of profits.
Manolov was also skeptical about the possibility of unions and employers reaching an agreement for the minimum wage to reach or exceed 672 euros.
“In theory, it is possible, but in theory there are many things that are possible. In practice, however, something completely different happens. I am not optimistic at all“, said the president of the CT “Podkrepa“.
He also commented on the way in which, according to him, an agreement was reached between the social partners on the subject in the past.
“The so-called agreement was reached with a gun held to the temple of the unions“, said Manolov.
Manolov also commented on the measures related to the high prices of fuel. According to him, Bulgaria has relatively low excise duty levels and possible changes in this direction could lead to additional problems.
He also raised the question of the need for such measures against the background of the movement of propane-butane prices.
“The price of propane-butane is decreasing compared to May. So why they do it, I don't know“, commented the president of the "Podkrepa" trade union.
Manolov also expressed reservations about whether the measures taken would lead to limiting the increase in the price of goods and services.
“I would be too optimistic if I had such an expectation. In theory, this should be possible. But we know how these things happen in Bulgaria, and not only in our country, of course“, he said.