Balgarianovinite.com We must thank the Bulgarian people for their investment in public media and remind Parliament that journalists’ salaries remain low, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev during the discussion of the 2026 State Budget Bill in its section on culture at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Committee on Culture and Media on Wednesday. The draft 2026 budget allocates EUR 10,160,700 to BTA.
Valchev said that despite an average salary increase of over 80% at BTA between 2021 and 2025, more than double the rate of inflation, and despite the introduction of systematic incentive schemes such as additional material bonuses for high performers, paid training, and support for specific groups of employees, salaries at BTA remain below those in comparable labour-market sectors. These include teachers and public relations specialists, including in state and municipal institutions, where pay is significantly higher than in the media sector.
“This is why we appeal to Parliament to consider aligning salaries in public media with those of teachers if funds are reallocated within the 2026 State Budget,” the BTA Director General said.
He reported that as of September 30, 2025, the average salary at BTA, including seniority bonuses and performance incentives, is BGN 2,500, whereas the average teacher’s salary is BGN 2,937, and will increase by a further nearly 10% in 2026. This means that achieving parity between teachers’ salaries and those of BTA staff would require an additional 15% increase to BTA’s wage fund, amounting to BGN 2 million, Valchev explained.
He added that BTA and the trade unions are considering various options for securing a higher rate of increase, including fully or partially discontinuing bonuses for those who consistently meet or exceed expectations. Valchev emphasized that there is no agreement to abolish bonuses for high performers in favour of those who do not perform well. However, a compromise may be possible: an actual salary increase of 10%, with insurance contributions and seniority bonuses funded from the resources that currently support systematic incentives, while maintaining a smaller bonus fund for employees who exceed performance criteria.
BTA is also discussing with the unions a plan for wage growth aligned with the international methodology used by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). This methodology calculates the net monthly income needed to support one worker in a three-member household with two employed adults. Currently, Valchev argued, 310 out of BTA’s 348 employees (89%) earn more than BGN 1,770, the income required per worker so that a two-income household has at least BGN 3,541 in gross labour income to cover essential living costs, in his words. For BTA’s highly qualified staff, however, the necessary income should be significantly higher, with only the lowest-paid technical positions expected to reach this benchmark within the next five years.
Valchev highlighted three additional key points in BTA’s proposed 2026 budget. It includes BGN 1.2 million for the purchase of additional disk-storage capacity. It also provides for one-third of the cost of licences and maintenance for the agency’s information and communication infrastructure, including cybersecurity, under a three-year deferred payment plan introduced when BTA opened full free public access to its website. The draft budget additionally includes co-financing for various national and EU-funded projects, which offsets insufficient capital-expenditure resources and covers targeted activities such as hardware and software upgrades. BTA Director General Valchev Thanks Bulgarian People for Funding Public Media, Reminds Parliament of Still-Low Journalist Salaries 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-20 16:58:42 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law