The ground public transport remains blocked, but the metro is working, the Sofia Municipality announced. For the sixth consecutive day, buses, trams and trolleybuses in Sofia have not left the depots due to the employees' protest. What a situation we are in… Economist and political analyst Nikolay Nikov speaks to FACTI.
- Mr. Nikov, how does the strike of public transport employees affect you. How do you get to work?
- My job involves a lot of travel and I use a car, but my family and loved ones are affected by this blockade.
- How can we deal with the transport chaos in Sofia?
- The problem with the transport blockade in Sofia can be solved very quickly and effectively. The situation is insane and unacceptable! If this absolutely absurd boycott does not meet a decisive response from the municipal administration, the consequences could be disastrous for Sofia and Bulgaria as a whole.
The only solution at the moment can be reduced to three steps and they are as follows:
- an appeal or rather an ultimatum to all public transport employees to restore the work process immediately. In case of refusal - dismissal
- announcement of competitions for new employees for each vacant position - immediately
- procedures for attracting workers in public transport from third countries such as Vietnam, Nepal, Pakistan, etc. - immediately
After taking these steps, the problem ceases to be political, and becomes purely personnel.
- But is this within the powers of the mayor and can he do it?
- If Mayor Terziev does this, no one will be able to seek political responsibility from him, because he will have taken the correct management actions.
- The question immediately arises of how this will be done from a purely legal point of view?
- The answer is that there are many ways, but in case the existing legislation does not allow this, they should change the law or the labor code. There are enough deputies from the party of Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev who can urgently take up this task. The reason is obvious, because the mayor and the municipal administration as a whole should be fully empowered and supported to take the above-described actions.
After so much noise has been made about the level of pay in public transport, I am convinced that there will be a sufficiently large number of new candidates to work there.
- But this requires time, after all. And until then…
- I am sure that there will be many who would even like to retrain and become drivers or vatmen. Paradoxically, this situation has shown the public that being an employee of public transport in Sofia is perhaps in the top place in terms of profitability by virtue of a correlative analysis between the components of qualification level and pay. On top of that, they also have the right to quit their jobs if they do not get what they want. This is not available anywhere.
- It is not easy to bring in staff, because the tourism business, which is looking for such people for the hotels by the sea for the summer, prepares for such a procedure for about a year. How will this time be compensated…
- People will mobilize. It is a matter of time. If we bring in staff from the above-listed countries, the cost of this type of service will drop dramatically, because they will agree to work for half the current salary. In addition, this will create the necessary healthy competition, as well as discipline our arsenal of drivers, taxi drivers and other operators in public transport.
- Do you think a solution will be found soon?
- The most important thing at the moment is that this impudence and irresponsibility does not spread to other sectors in the country. If the above-described measures are not taken, what would doctors, teachers, police officers, military personnel and all others employed in the private sector say? The majority of our society works for lower salaries, but they are far more educated and qualified. Let's face it, it's harder to become a doctor than a driver - isn't it? Doctors and nurses receive less and do their job with much greater responsibility. There are places in Bulgaria where medical workers have not received salaries for months, but they do not leave patients who are on hemodialysis, for example, to strike.
- It is certainly not easy for drivers and whatmans, but they do not receive little money either. This is a fact…
- Look, drivers and whatmans are perhaps one of the most easily replaceable professions. Every third man in Bulgaria has considered getting the necessary qualification and becoming a truck driver somewhere in Europe or America, if he doesn't succeed elsewhere. And that's why I want to address Mayor Terziev.
Dear Mr. Terziev, Mr. Kmete, do not allow this blackmail, but take the right steps. If necessary, Sofia will spend a little more time without public transport, in the name of not being blackmailed and suffering as a society.
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Nikolay Nikov was born in 1977. He studied “International Business“ at the London branch of the American International University in Richmond (American International University) and “Insurance and Risk Management“ at City University (City University Business School) in London. He also has a PhD in Economics and Management from Southwestern University Blagoevgrad.
After a dynamic career in the City of London, he returned to Bulgaria and until 2012 developed a career in the field of finance. He was also the Chief Coordinator in the “Management of Multinational Insurance Programs“ department at AIG, Europe (Great Britain), London.
He currently develops theories and teaches in the field of economic and business sciences. He also develops business in the field of industrial entrepreneurship.