Living and working in Bulgaria

In the last quarter of 2023, inflation continued to slow and fell to 4.7%, its lowest level over the last two years. On 1 July, pensions were increased by 12%; the number of pensioners with a monthly income from pensions and supplements below the poverty line subsequently decreased by almost 50%, and the figure is now around 665,000. The statutory minimum wage has also been increasing; from January 2023, it went up by 20%. In 2024, it will be raised by another 20% approximately following the introduction of a new setting mechanism.

In addition to fighting inflation, the government is focused on Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area as of March 2024 and joining the euro zone from 1 January 2025, as well as the implementation of reforms and projects from the national recovery and resilience plan (NRRP).

There were no significant changes to Bulgarian social dialogue structures in 2023. The institutional structure of the tripartite social partnership remains unchanged, with stable national representative participants in social dialogue. Social dialogue was supported by important amendments to the Criminal Code related to the protection of employees’ rights to form trade unions. These changes seek to prevent and punish any acts of violence or intimidation directed against workers seeking to exercise their trade union rights. The trade union confederations have received signals of employers obstructing the establishment of trade unions but expressed hopes that with the changes in legislation such practices will be stopped. The conflict resolution framework in 2023 includes the Court of Arbitration at the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA); all mediation proceedings were introduced and developed in an online environment.

Several collective actions and protests were organised by trade union confederations. Workers at the Bulgarian Posts company demanded a 25% wage increase and improved working conditions starting from 1 January 2023. In the end, they settled for an increase of 19%, which will apply to more than 9,000 workers. One of the biggest protests in the country was organised jointly by the trade union confederations of workers in the coal mining and energy sectors and by farmers and agriculturists. The miners protested against the expected restructuring of the industry, involving mass dismissals from coal mines and thermal power plant closures. The farmers and agriculturists were objecting to the import of oil and other products from Ukraine. The government satisfied the requests of the grain producers to stop the import of sunflower oil and is committed to offering a just transition agreement for the regions around the coal plants. Cultural figures, musicians, artists and employees of museums and libraries also walked out in a national protest. They demanded a tangible increase in the budget for culture and the adoption of legal changes to ensure the necessary funds to increase all incomes and remunerations. However, the promised 50% increase was not included in the state budget for 2024.

Amendments to the Labour Code were proposed in 2023 that aim to increase flexibility and security in remote work. In reference to the organisation of work, a requirement to provide employees with information about algorithmic management systems (involving artificial intelligence) is proposed, along with the option to request a human review of automated decisions when they affect workers’ rights. The proposal is expected to be adopted by parliament in 2024.