Workers in surface public transport in Sofia are preparing a new protest this Thursday, June 26. The action is scheduled from 8:30 to 14:00 in front of the Sofia Municipality building and will be under the slogan “Budget and salary increase now!". This was announced by the press center of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KITUB), BTA reports.
The protest is organized by the Federation of Transport Trade Unions under the KITUB and the Federation of Transport Workers under the Confederation of Labor "Podkrepa" due to the failure to fulfill commitments to increase wages in public transport due to the delayed adoption of the capital's budget for this year and its return for reconsideration to the Sofia Municipal Council (SMC).
„Despite the funds provided by the state, the lack of an adopted budget blocks key decisions, threatens the normal functioning of the sector and leads again to increasing tension among employees“, the organizers of the action point out.
The protesters demand the immediate adoption of the budget and an increase in the salaries of those working in the capital's public transport by 300 leva. Improving working conditions and finding sustainable solutions for the stability of public transport companies are also part of the demands. The two federations of transport unions call on the municipal leadership and municipal councilors to take their responsibility towards the people who ensure the mobility of the capital on a daily basis, the press release of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions also states.
A meeting of the Municipal Council is scheduled for Thursday at 10:00 a.m., according to information on the municipal councilors' website. Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev invited representatives of all political forces in the Municipality to a joint meeting on the Sofia budget on Monday.
In the spring, workers in public transport organized protests in Sofia calling for a salary increase, and in May, public transport was blocked for several days. At the end of last month, the cabinet allocated 15 million leva to the Sofia Municipality to solve the public transport crisis in the capital, after which the protests stopped.
On June 12, Vasil Terziev returned the Sofia budget and the economic framework for transport for 2025, because, in his words, he cannot allow the money of Sofia residents to be spent without control, logic and against the law.