The main reason for the winter protests was the young people's feeling of injustice and inequality between the private sector and the ever-growing state machine.
The privileges for a number of employees in the budget sector were created because 20 years ago, Bulgaria, devastated by hyperinflation, did not have the necessary funds to support a well-paid state administration and structures.
This is recalled by the chairman of KRIB, Kiril Domuschiev, on his Facebook profile in connection with the legislative proposals for those employed in the budget sector to pay part of their social security contributions.
That is why they do not pay social security contributions, receive a number of social bonuses and in general it is difficult to be fired – even for poorly done work.
But this is no longer the case – those employed in the public sector have at least 10% higher net salaries than those working in the private sector. And in recent months, the entire society has been scandalized by the huge salaries of heads of departments, board members and directors.
The political parties before the elections promised that in this situation everyone would pay their own insurance and it is time to fulfill this promise. Now and immediately – without step-by-step and gradual measures.
We are in a budget and inflation crisis and those employed in the budget sector must bear its burden equally with people in the private sector.
The official position of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CBIB) calls on all parliamentary parties to unite and support the several legislative proposals submitted, providing for a number of employees in the budget sector to pay “themselves” their social security contributions. This is a measure with high public support and an undeniable positive economic effect, and will be of particular importance for controlling the budget deficit in Bulgaria and maintaining sustainable financing of the health and pension systems.
A number of budget employees have historically been exempted from contributions as a mechanism for increasing their disposable income decades ago, when salaries in the public sector lagged critically behind those in the private sector. Today, those employed in the public sector are paid significantly higher than those employed in the private sector, and this privilege has lost its reason for existence - on the contrary, it creates public tension and a sense of injustice in society. No matter how it is formulated politically or legally (most often, that the “state“ pays these insurances), all systems in society are supported by net taxpayers in the economy, which are to a large extent concentrated in the private sector, due to the nature of the market economy and the long-term inability of the public sector to operate on the basis of network knowledge (lack of price signals, moral hazard and principal-agent problem).
We also draw attention to the fact that the currently submitted proposals include a stepwise transition to the normal ratio between employer and employee of the insurance contributions, which in the current situation of high budget deficit is too “soft” measure. It is normal for those working in the public sector to bear their solidarity burden in dealing with the inflationary, budgetary and probably debt problem. We also call on the CRIEB not to “compensate” the loss of disposable income with the increase in budget salaries, as they have already overtaken those in the private sector. This measure was not introduced on time - at the time of equalization of wages - and it is socially unfair that in any economic or financial crisis the budget sector is almost completely immune to suffering the negative consequences.
Based on a report made under the APIA, leaked to the media last week, civil servants in a certain ministry receive salaries many times higher than that of the minister and the average for Sofia, reaching almost 10,000 euros per month. With such numbers, to claim that in the conditions of inflation and fiscal crisis, such employees are unable to pay their insurance premiums is an insult to the 2 million Bulgarians working in the private sector and supporting absolutely all public systems in the country.
Last but not least, this reform will also lead to partial fiscal space for minimal indexation of health care money, where there continues to be a certain shortage that would be difficult to cover in the current fiscal crisis.
In meetings with political parties before the elections, many of them have already expressed their support for this measure and it is logical that it be implemented today - no matter who is the initiator, since consensus is sought in the public interest.
This is also one of the necessary reforms with the highest public support, as evidenced by a number of studies, which even if carried out on a full scale will prove insufficient for the modernization of the public sector in the current fiscal crisis - according to calculations by the Fiscal Council and confirmed by the economists of KRIB, Bulgarian demography suggests a public sector with at least 90,000 people smaller than the over 660,000 working today.