„At the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, we will be uncompromising in controlling the implementation of labor legislation and combating the shadow economy“, said the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Borislav Gutsanov.
He participated in an inspection of a construction site for compliance with labor legislation together with the executive director of the Executive Agency „General Labor Inspectorate“ (EA GIT) Eng. Ekaterina Asenova and two teams of inspectors. It is part of the intensified control actions that began on March 18 by order of the minister with the aim of preventing the shadow economy and guaranteeing the rights of workers.
„I ordered intensified inspections at all sites in the country so that people know that they have rights and that there is someone to protect them. And the state must show its zero tolerance for the shadow economy“, explained Minister Gutsanov. He was categorical that it is not normal for the shadow economy to be around 30%. “Some cannot be in the light and pay for everything, while others play under the table“, said Gutsanov.
Since the beginning of the year, 11,346 inspections have been carried out throughout the country. The Minister expressed gratitude to the EA GIT team for the efforts they are making despite limited resources.
“It is very important that all workers have employment contracts and that safety rules are observed. With the onset of the active construction and agricultural season, and the tourist season, inspections will be increasingly intensified. Our goal is not to collect money in the budget, but to ensure that people know their rights and that the state has zero tolerance for the shadow economy“, said the minister.
He drew attention to the fact that violations were also found at the inspected site and even activity was almost stopped in order to eliminate some of them, which directly threatened the life and health of the workers. In addition to an unsecured temporary electrical panel and scaffolding on the site, there were also two workers without employment contracts.
The Executive Director of the GIT Agency Ekaterina Asenova informed that since the beginning of the year, 307 workers without employment contracts have been found at construction sites out of a total of 575 in all economic activities. 250 acts were issued to suspend activities during construction and installation works when the health and life of workers were endangered, and 970 acts were drawn up to establish administrative violations.
For 2024, the amount of the penal decrees that entered into force is over 15.7 million leva.