The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Religions and Citizens' Complaints unanimously adopted the bill on amendments to the Protection against Discrimination Act at first reading. The project aims to reduce the gender pay gap through mandatory rules for transparency, monitoring and enforcement.
“The overall objective of the bill is to reduce the gender pay gap in Bulgaria by introducing mandatory mechanisms for transparency, monitoring and enforcement“, said Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Nadya Klisurska when presenting the texts.
The deadline for the European directive has expired
The changes are related to the transposition into Bulgarian legislation of Directive (EU) 2023/970. The deadline for fulfilling this obligation was June 7, 2026. According to Klisurska, failure to comply could lead to infringement proceedings against Bulgaria and financial sanctions.
The draft provides for the Commission for Protection against Discrimination to collect and publish structured data on the pay gap between women and men at the employer level. The commission is also tasked with developing analytical tools for assessing gender inequalities and analyzing the causes of the differences.
The Commission for Protection against Discrimination objected to the functions assigned to it
The Chairperson of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination Elka Bozhova presented the institution's position. The Commission for Protection against Discrimination in principle supports the introduction of the European directive into Bulgarian legislation, but does not support the bill in its proposed form.
According to the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the adoption of the texts will create a practical impossibility for the actual implementation of the Protection against Discrimination Act and the implementation of the directive. The Commission states that it is an independent state body with judicial functions, not an executive body that carries out ongoing control and sanctions violations of labor legislation.
The opinion also states that the data that the draft obliges the CPD to collect constitute sensitive personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation. According to the commission, the necessary information is already collected, processed and stored according to established rules by the National Revenue Agency, the National Statistical Institute and the Executive Agency “General Labor Inspectorate“.
The CPD warns that the repeated provision of the same data by businesses and other obligated enterprises will lead to a significant and unnecessary administrative burden for employers and hiring authorities.
After its adoption by the leading parliamentary committee, the bill is to be considered by the National Assembly at first reading.
Sources: BTA