Judicial employees from the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office have launched a national petition against the changes to pay set out in the draft budget for 2027. They do not agree with the planned 5% increase in remuneration and the intention to limit clothing allowances, which they say constitute a significant part of their annual income.
The petition was launched by the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office, but is open to employees from all courts, prosecutor’s offices and investigative bodies across the country. Hundreds of signatures have been collected in two days. The initiators intend to send the petition to the Supreme Judicial Council, the National Assembly’s Budget and Finance Committee, the Ministry of Finance, professional associations and trade union organisations in the judiciary.
The gap between salaries and living costs in the capital
The employees point out that they work at the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office, which they describe as the largest and one of the busiest prosecutor’s offices in the country. According to them, the approximate ratio is one prosecutor to 0.8 employees, while the administrative work includes processing cases, prosecutorial acts, summonses and court documents.
According to data from the National Statistical Institute, the average gross monthly salary in Sofia in the second quarter of 2026 was €1,943. At the same time, the starting basic salary of a judicial employee at the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office is €718 net. The employees claim that low incomes make it difficult to attract and retain qualified staff, while the departure of experienced people increases the workload on those who remain.
“When someone leaves, their work does not disappear. It remains for their colleagues. We do not want anyone to pay our bills. We want to be able to pay them with our salaries,” the petition’s initiators said.They want compensation if clothing allowances are abolished
The judicial employees clarify that they are not necessarily insisting that clothing allowances be retained. If they are abolished, they are calling for the loss of annual income to be offset through a permanent increase in basic monthly salaries, separate from the general increase.
“We understand that to many people this money looks like a privilege. The truth is that many of us do not use the money for clothes, but to cover loan instalments, pay rent, bills, medicines and expenses related to our children,” the employees said.
Their public gathering will take place on 13 November in front of the buildings of the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office and the Sofia District Court at 23 Gen. M. Skobelev Boulevard. The event is being held under the slogan “The Invisible Ones in the Judiciary” and will be organised in such a way as not to interrupt the provision of administrative services to citizens.