From January 1 next year, the minimum wage for the country will be 1,077 BGN instead of the previous 933 BGN, which is an increase of 15%. This is provided for in a draft government decree published for public discussion. Economists Prof. Garabed Minasyan and Lyubomir Karimanski commented on the topic in “Your Day” on NOVA NEWS.
Minasyan said that the minimum wage in Bulgaria is 60% of the average minimum wage in countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Karimanski pointed out that we are in the queue for production growth as a contribution to the economy
He added that when we talk about minimum and average wages, we cannot isolate the growth of the economy. According to him, it is worrying that this growth is due to consumption and not to production.
We are once again in the queue for production growth as a contribution to the economy. We must strive for the minimum wage to be really enforced, not to be voted politically and populist, Karimanski also said.
He also explained that when remunerations are changed in any sector, they must be in accordance with the Ministry of Finance and the Committee on Budget and Finance and emphasized that the opposite is “inadmissible”.
Minasyan pointed out that investments in the economy should be high, but this is not happening. He explained that labor cost growth outpaced labor productivity growth by 26%.
„The norm that the EU gives for countries that are not members of the eurozone is 12 percent”, the economist also said.