A protest action by the unions is being held in front of the entrance for deputies to the National Assembly, Nova TV reports. The Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions and the Podkrepa Confederation have prepared a list of questions that they want to receive answers to from the deputies before proceeding with the budget procedure. Their main position is that the latest draft laws - on the state budget, social security and the health fund - are a better option than introducing an extension law to the budget for 2025.
"The first point after the vote on the resignation of the cabinet should be a discussion of the changes to the Budget Law. That's why we are here. Because all we heard on Thursday is that the deputies have no intention of voting on this budget. And in fact, it contains questions or, rather, decisions that determine these 15 questions that we have written and we expect answers to them," said the president of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions Plamen Dimitrov.
He emphasized that the first question to the deputies is what happens to the minimum wage? "Because it is very easy to switch to an extension law. But it says that in January we can spend up to the amount of expenses in 2025 and no more than the income in January 2026. It says nothing about a new minimum wage. Half a million people are waiting for this increase, plus teachers, people from other fields - many of whom have been protesting in recent months," he explained.