Staff shortages are reported by 72.6% of workers in the transport sector, with the shortfall affecting 92.7% of those employed in air transport, 85.5% in water transport and 72.6% in land transport, Alexander Shopov, Chair of the Federation of Transport Trade Unions (FTTU) affiliated with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) said, presenting the findings of a survey entitled “Review and Analysis of Working Conditions and Related Occupational Health Issues among Employees in the Transport Sector” at CITUB headquarters on Monday. The study was carried out with the support of the Working Conditions Fund under the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
The survey covered all three modes of transport. Of the respondents, 75.9% worked in land transport, 12.6% in water transport and 11.6% in air transport. A total of 2,141 questionnaires were completed between January and November 2026.
Heavy workloads were reported by 86.3% of air transport workers, 84.8% of water transport workers and 63.6% of those employed in land transport, Shopov said.
He also noted that 82.5% of respondents were aged between 40 and 64, while only 1% were under 25. “When older workers in the sector retire, transport will grind to a halt. There will be no one to deliver essential supplies by sea, the aviation sector will be left without staff, and there will be no one to work in urban public transport,” the trade union representative warned.
Shopov stressed the importance of retaining experienced employees while creating better conditions to attract younger people to the sector. The survey also found that 72.2% of respondents were men and 27.8% were women.
Staff shortages and low pay are among the sector’s most pressing problems, while employees face a constant risk of work-related health issues. More than 70% of respondents are exposed to high noise levels, 64.9% report sleep disturbances and 64.1% suffer from chronic fatigue, Shopov said.
The Federation of Transport Trade Unions is calling for adequate staffing levels and fair pay, workforce planning, minimum safe staffing requirements and reserve personnel to cover absences. The unions are also demanding funding to attract, train and retain employees, as well as adequate rest breaks and predictable work schedules. In addition, the federation is calling for safe equipment, preventive healthcare measures and better health protection for workers.
Worldwide, more than 840,000 people died last year from illnesses associated with chronic stress, workplace pressure and burnout, Ognyan Atanasov, Vice President of CITUB, said.
He pointed out that Bulgarian legislation contains very few provisions aimed at protecting workers from stress. Meanwhile, the costs to employers resulting from employees falling ill due to excessive stress and being unable to attend work amount to hundreds of millions of euros.
Atanasov also noted that the European Commission is working on a directive addressing psychosocial risks in the workplace. “This directive is extremely important and must be introduced as soon as possible. Stress leads to chronic illnesses, which is why action is needed. The transport sector has been largely overlooked in this regard,” he said.
“The lives of many other people depend on those who work in transport,” the CITUB vice president added.
Transport is arguably one of the largest and most strategically important economic sectors, Sofia Deputy Mayor for Transport Ivan Nikolov said.
He noted that the Sofia Municipality is working to improve conditions for employees in the city’s public transport system. A key part of these efforts involves modernisation. Together with Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, the municipality has set an ambitious target of modernising almost the entire public transport fleet by 2030, which will require the delivery of a substantial number of new vehicles.
“However, modern public transport is not just about vehicles. It is also about providing modern working conditions for the people who operate and maintain them,” Nikolov said.

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