Balgarianovinite.com Trade union representatives said that EUR 24.6 million would be needed to finance a 5% salary increase from January 1 for employees working in state-subsidized structures such as urban transport companies, Bulgarian State Railways, National Railway Infrastructure Company, and Bulgarian Posts. The figure was announced on Monday by Aleksandar Shopov, Chair of the Federation of Transport Trade Unions (FTTU) affiliated with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), after a meeting with the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev. The information was also confirmed by CITUB Vice President Todor Kapitanov. The meeting had been initiated by Kotsev during a protest by employees of the city’s public transport company, who blocked traffic at the beginning of Asparuhov Bridge in the direction of the city exit earlier in the day.
Kapitanov recalled that a 5% salary increase had already been planned for other employees in the state sector under the budget extension law (formally the Act on the Collection of Revenues and the Commitment of Expenditures in 2026 until the Passage of the 2026 State Budget Act, the 2026 Public Social Insurance Budget Act and the 2026 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Act). He said that although the unions were aware that a 5% increase was very small, they were seeking fairness. Once a regular state budget is adopted, the unions plan to push for at least a 10% pay rise, and up to 15% in some sectors.
He added that after the adoption of a regular state budget for 2026, the Varna municipality would be able to plan its expenditures more easily. At that point, the union would likely ask the municipality to look for ways to provide additional funding for what the union proposes to negotiate in the collective labour agreement, namely a EUR 200 wage increase.
Shopov said that dialogue between the unions and the municipality was constructive and that solutions should be sought together. However, he stressed that the issue cannot be resolved without dialogue with the state and with the Ministry of Finance. He welcomed Kotsev’s willingness to sign a new cooperation agreement with the unions but added that such an agreement would not be possible without additional funding from the state.
For his part, Kotsev said the municipality stood in solidarity with initiatives aimed at improving working conditions for employees, including those in the transport sector, which he described as particularly important. He said that the municipality had always tried to respond to workers’ demands as much as possible and had done what it could so far. According to the mayor, it is necessary to bring the state, the municipality and the unions to the same table in order to find a long-term and sustainable solution and ensure predictable financing for these activities. Unions Say EUR 24.6 Mln Needed for 5% Pay Rise in State-Subsidized Transport Companies 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-09 15:09:45 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