The drivers in the capital's bus transport are going on strike on Friday. The dissatisfaction will start at 5 am. This concerns only the drivers who are members of the transport union of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions (CITUB). 26 bus lines will not operate for an indefinite period, as about 90 buses that serve them will not leave the garages. The reason for the dissatisfaction is the lack of a collective labor agreement. According to them, the municipal company is sabotaging the negotiations.
„The negotiation of the collective labor agreement, which was approved by the general meeting between the two trade union organizations - the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions (CITUB) and the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions (KT) „Podkrepa” and the employer must give impetus to the negotiations. So far, he refuses to start the negotiation process,” said the vice president of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions Todor Kapitanov.
The Union of Transport Unions, which also has members in the Sofia Autotransport, will not support the protest. According to them, the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions is hindering the negotiations for collective bargaining, demonstratively leaving them.
„The Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions has left the negotiations without clear arguments as to why it does not accept an organization that is legitimate and proven to be at the negotiating table”, pointed out the municipal councilor from GERB-SDF Ekaterina Yordanova.
The third union in the case is the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions “Podkrepa”, which claims that it is not participating in the dispute between the two parties, but categorically does not side with the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions.
„The problem, as described by one of the trade union organizations that will hold the protest, is not quite like that. This is a dispute between two trade union organizations. This is a fratricidal war that I call on the trade unions to stop,” said the municipal councilor from the “BSP for Bulgaria” Vanya Grigorova.
Despite the claims of the other two trade union organizations, the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions did not back down from their claims that they were not hindering the negotiations.
“We left the negotiations because there was no one left to negotiate with, what to do there,” Todor Kapitanov pointed out.
In a position statement from the capital’s transport company, they claim that the company is not creating obstacles, and the dispute is between the trade unions.