Holding the first round of talks, the government, unions and employers agreed that a new mechanism will be set in place in 2027 for calculating the minimum wage. The talks were hosted by the Finance Ministry.
Participating in the workgroup were Finance Minister Galab Donev, Labour and Social Policy Minister Natalia Efremova, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, the Podkrepa Labour Confederation, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There were also officials of the National Statistical Institute.
The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was represented by Vice-President Dr. Vasil Todorov
All sides agreed on the criteria to be used in calculating the minimum pay: purchasing power of the minimum pay, cost of living, the general pay level and distribution, the pace of wage increase, and long-term labour productivity, said the Finance Ministry.
The participants in the meeting agreed to meet once in four years to assess the adequacy of the minimum wage.
The Finance Minister is quoted as saying at the start of the meeting that a minimum wage mechanism needs to be set in place urgently, to comply with the EU minimum wage directive and Convention 131 of the International Labour Organizatioin.
The Labour Minister said that each stage of the procedure will include consultations with the unions and the employers.