Trade unions and businesses have begun discussions on the draft government decree, which proposes that the official poverty line for the country be 764 leva from January 1 instead of the current 638 leva, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.
The document has already passed a month-long public discussion, and is due to be considered this week by the Income and Living Standards Committee of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation.
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. According to the latest data, one million and four hundred thousand people or nearly 22 percent of the country's population are below the poverty line. The determination of the size of the poverty line for the country is carried out every year according to a special methodology.
According to it, the value of 764 leva proposed by the government corresponds to the poverty line from the Eurostat study "Statistics on Income and Living Conditions". The poverty line increases by 19.7% or 126 leva compared to its size from the previous year.
According to the latest data, the relative share of the poor population increases by 75,400 people on an annual basis and reaches one million and four hundred thousand people. The report of the Minister of Social Affairs Borislav Gutsanov to the draft decree on the new size of the poverty line for next year states that with its increase, social benefits under the Social Assistance Act, financial support under the Disabled Persons Act, financial assistance and funds (for prevention and reintegration, raising the child with relatives or close friends and in foster families) under the Child Protection Act will also increase, which will have a beneficial impact on the vulnerable and lowest-income groups of the population.
Traditionally, during discussions by the social partners, the unions criticize the methodology for determining the poverty line and insist that it be updated with inflation.