In Bulgaria, thousands of people work in call centers - serving clients of foreign companies. The website Voxeurop describes the conditions in the industry and predicts a gloomy future.
Bulgaria - from golden technologies to the hell of call centers: under this dramatic title, the Voxeurop journalistic platform publishes an extensive analysis of Bulgaria.
Like most countries in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria's economy was transformed after the changes in 1989, notes the author Ugo dos Santos. Industry gave way to the service sector, which by 2022 is responsible for 57.66% of GDP, we read more in the text. In it, next to tourism, more and more people are also employed in the IT field.
Over 100,000 Bulgarians work for subcontractors
The text tells about the new capital mayor Vasil Terziev, whose election has given an additional headwind to the IT industry. In Bulgaria, the contrast between the modern technological sector and the clumsy administration is particularly visible, the author states. But in Sofia, this is far from the only contrast: in some neighborhoods, electric Tesla cars drive on the streets, while the houses they pass are still heated with wood. Extremely successful start-up companies such as Payhawk have also been created in Bulgaria, and "Sofia Tech Park" has the potential to create up to 15,000 jobs.
According to data from the business association AIBEST, as of 2023, more than 104,000 people in Bulgaria are employed full-time in companies that work as subcontractors. Some of them answer emails and complaints, others moderate content on social networks. According to data from the National Statistical Institute, nearly 12,000 work only in call centers, we read more in the Voxeurop article.
Four main groups are employed in call centers
Research by anthropologists Tsvetelina Hristova and Kristina Korkoncelu divides company employees in this sector into four groups - young graduates, employees who are in the process of changing professions, emigrants who have returned to Bulgaria, and foreigners.
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The first group is recruited already during the studies, the second is the result of the shortcomings of the Bulgarian public sector, caused by "privatization and widespread corruption". Companies like TELUS recruit Bulgarians abroad and even offer bonuses to those who decide to return and work for them. Regarding foreigners, a serious group of them are young and poorly educated Europeans, who for the most part come from lower social strata. With their salaries in Bulgaria, they acquire better purchasing power, notes Hristova.
Payment is a controversial topic. Employees whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian receive more. At the same time, not all languages are paid equally. English and Bulgarian are the worst paid, and those who use a Scandinavian language at work receive more, we read more in the extensive publication.
A country without effective trade unions
Trade unions in the country are not represented in these companies and do not have information about the conditions in which their employees work. Employees in call centers tell DV that long night shifts and grueling conditions are part of their daily work routine. However, the salary is in most cases above the national average, so many choose to stay in such companies. Among them are also representatives of minority groups, including from the Middle East, who find no other way to make a living in Bulgaria.
Many of those working in the field are also skeptical of unions, as they believe that they are too tied to the regime and the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor of the Bulgarian Communist Party, notes Hugo dos Santos in Voxeurop. Those working in this sector criticize not only the politicization of unions, but also their possible exploitation. "All this only emphasizes the lack of an institution to protect workers both collectively and individually,", summarizes the author of the article.
To fight the mechanisms in this sector, some foreigners resort to individual resistance, which at times is comical, we read further in the text. For example, they often take sick leave or change jobs. Since such personnel are in high demand - especially in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna - finding a new job often takes only a few days. Some of them circumvent management requirements - for example by simulating work or manipulating working hours, we read more in Voxeurop.
Artificial intelligence and inflation are killing this industry
The slow but sure demise of these companies seems inevitable, however, as wages in Bulgaria approach European standards and artificial intelligence becomes a serious competitor to humans, who are engaged in "nonsense", as anthropologist David Graeber calls this activity in his book. Due to inflation, the wage level in the sector is no longer that high.
In the near future, it will be difficult for Bulgaria to deal with the consequences of this situation, in which part of the workforce is employed in jobs that do not require special qualifications, with activities that do not benefit the citizens, the author predicts.