Protest by employees of „Bulgarian Post“. Early this morning they came out in front of the stations across the country demanding a 5% increase in their basic monthly salaries. The day was not chosen by chance - pension payments begin today, Nova TV reported.
At 7:30 this morning, instead of taking their places behind the counters, employees of the central post office in Plovdiv stood with protest posters in front.
„The resource that must be provided by the state is worth 2.4 million leva. I do not think it is an unbearable amount. We also want better working conditions. We insist that the state pay us the subsidy that we are entitled to for the universal postal service. Our salaries have not been indexed since January 1, 2025. 60% of people at “Bulgarian Posts” receive 621 euros,” said Elena Kabakova, chairwoman of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions in the “Bulgarian Posts” -Plovdiv branch.
Among the first to join today's protest were the branches in Burgas. “Young people will never come to these salaries”, commented Simona Stancheva.
”Salaries are criminally low”, believes Yanina Dimitrova, chairwoman of the Regional Trade Union Council at “Bulgarian Posts”.
The protests covered cities across the country.
”The state should give us what it gives to all other civil servants”, demanded Tsvetelina Terzieva, office manager of a post office in Sofia.
”In “Bulgarian Posts” of about 7,000 people, 5,100 of them - on minimum wage. This is one of the lowest paid sectors in the country and it is time for someone to pay attention”, said the vice president of the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions Todor Kapitanov.
The work stoppage at the post offices lasted about an hour, after which the employees began serving the waiting people.
At the same time, the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions announced the start of a series of demonstrations in public transport in Sofia, Varna and Ruse, as well as by workers at the Bulgarian Railways. A protest action is also expected at the Bulgarian State Railways. The unions are demanding a vertical income policy in the underfunded state sectors.
The workers' demands were presented to the deputies on the eve of the adoption of the new extended budget. The Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions (CITUB) is demanding a 5% increase in wages in sectors such as the Bulgarian Post Office, public transport, Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) and the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRI).
The extension law allows the state to make expenditures only up to the amount of those for the same month of last year, provided that they do not exceed the collected revenues. At the same time, the latest data from the Ministry of Finance indicate that the state treasury is in a deficit of 900 million euros.
The confederation is also expected to present a Memorandum on the Socio-Economic Development of Bulgaria. Traditionally, trade unions prepare the document before each parliamentary vote. It contains their demands for the candidates to govern the country.
The memorandum includes the CITUB's vision on several points – economic and fiscal framework, fair remuneration of labor, economic development, social security and dialogue, collective bargaining and protection of fundamental rights.
I support postal employees and am convinced that the people who maintain this important public service every day deserve decent and fair pay and better working conditions. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Korman Ismailov on the occasion of the strike actions of employees at "Bulgarian Posts" EAD that began today.
On Friday, at a meeting with trade union organizations, Minister Ismailov announced that one of his first tasks was to commission an audit of the management and financial condition of the postal operator, the Ministry of Transport and Communications reported.
„It is unacceptable that 60% of the employees of "Bulgarian Posts" to be on a minimum wage, the enterprise constantly generates losses and every year waits for a subsidy from the state budget, the quality of services and revenues do not improve, and during this time the executive director receives a salary of over 7,600 euros per month. The remuneration of the executive director and the Board of Directors will be reduced. Their obligation is to ensure high revenues for the company and to manage taxpayers' money with the care of a good manager“, emphasized Korman Ismailov.
He informed that he is submitting to the Council of Ministers a proposal for an advance provision of funds to "Bulgarian Posts" in the amount of 5 million euros. “I will refer to a decision of the European Commission from December 2025, which changes the maximum allowable annual amount of compensation for services of general economic interest from 15 to 20 million euros“, he explained.