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Bulgaria - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Sofia

 

CLIMATE

Temperate. Bulgaria has cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers.

 

LANGUAGES

Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

Civil law and criminal law based on Roman law. Bulgaria accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Bulgaria Lev (1 USD = 2.20770 BGL as of March 15, 2002)

 

BULGARIA - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

BULGARIA - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U.S. Embassy at Sofia

1 Saborna St.

Sofia, Bulgaria

APO AE 09213-1335

Sofia, Bulgaria

Telephone: [359] (2) 937-5100

http://www.usembassy.bg/

 

Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria at Washington D.C.

1621 22nd Street N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 387-0174

Fax: (202) 234-7973

E-mail: office@bulgariaembassy.org

http://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/

 

BULGARIA - HOLIDAYS

 

BULGARIA - LEAVE

Annual Leave: Minimum 14 days paid leave each year.

 

Maternity Leave: 120-180 days – 100% of pay (paid by social security).

 

BULGARIA - MINIMUM AGE

The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 16 years. The minimum age for dangerous work is 18.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Bulgaria – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

BULGARIA - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

In October 2001, the monthly minimum wage was increased from approximately $40 (85 leva) to approximately $47 (100 leva). The average industrial wage is approximately $107 (246 leva).

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Bulgaria – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

BULGARIA - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessors are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

BULGARIA - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

The Constitution provides for the right of all workers to form or join trade unions of their choice, and this right generally was exercised freely. Estimates of the unionized share of the work force range from 30 to 50 percent, but this share continued to decrease as large firms laid off workers, and most new positions appeared in small, nonunionized businesses. The two largest trade union confederations are the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) and Podkrepa, which together represent the overwhelming majority of organized workers. Trade unions are required to demonstrate their membership strength through a periodic census of their members; however, employer representative organizations are not similarly required to demonstrate whom they represent in the trilateral process.

 

Doctors and dentists have expressed dissatisfaction with their Government-imposed union structure. The trade unions alleged that this organization is not truly a labor representative organization, but simply a government-mandated fee collection agency. They also believe it impedes the opportunity for a genuine trade union to represent medical professionals. The 1992 Labor Code recognizes the right to strike when other means of conflict resolution have been exhausted; however, "political strikes" are forbidden, and workers in essential services (primarily the military and the police) are subject to a blanket prohibition against striking. Such workers on occasion held an "effective strike" in which they stopped or slowed their activities for 1 or 2 hours. The CITUB confederation argued that the number of workers classified as essential and ineligible to strike is excessive and unfairly restricts the right of many ordinary civil servants to exercise their worker rights. The Government generally does not interfere with legal labor strikes, and a number of work stoppages took place during the year.

 

The Podkrepa labor union has complained that a 1998 amendment to a labor law has made it easier for the Government to declare a strike illegal. Under this amendment, workers no longer have the right to appeal when a strike is declared illegal. Podkrepa maintains that this provision is unconstitutional and violates an International Labor Organization (ILO) convention. The union has raised these concerns repeatedly with the Government in the context of negotiations over proposed changes to the Labor Code, and made a complaint to the ILO Committee of Experts.

 

The labor movement also remained concerned about the widespread use of temporary contracts to evade provisions for worker protections of permanent staff. Many workers, who effectively are permanent staff, are hired under short-term contracts that are renewed at the end of each month or each quarter. When an employer decides to fire someone, they may do so under the law by simply not renewing their contract, rather than initiating a severance action that would entail payment of benefits.

 

No restrictions limit affiliation or contact with international labor organizations, and unions actively exercise this right.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

The Labor Code provides for collective bargaining, which was practiced nationally, regionally, and on the local level; however, labor unions have complained that while the legal structure for collective bargaining was adequate, many employers failed to bargain in good faith or to adhere to agreements that were concluded. Labor observers also viewed the Government's enforcement of labor contracts as inadequate. The legal prohibition against striking for key public sector employees weakens their bargaining position; however, these groups were able to influence negotiations by staging protests, work slow downs, and engaging in other pressure tactics without going on strike (see Section 6.a.).

 

The Labor Code's prohibitions against antiunion discrimination include a 6-month period for redress against dismissal as a form of retribution. However, there is no mechanism other than the courts for resolving complaints, and the burden of proof in such a case rests entirely on the employee. In several instances in the past, an employer was found guilty of antiunion discrimination, but the employers appealed the decisions. The backlog of cases in the legal system delayed further action, effectively delaying, perhaps indefinitely, redress of workers' grievances.

 

The same obligation of collective bargaining and adherence to labor standards applies to the country's six export processing zones, and unions may organize workers in these areas.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children; however, trafficking in girls for prostitution was a problem (see Section 6.f.).

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment

 

The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 16 years; the minimum age for dangerous work is 18. Employers and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) are responsible for enforcing these provisions. Child labor laws generally are enforced well in the formal sector, but NGO's believe that children increasingly were exploited in certain industries (especially small family-owned shops, textile factories, restaurants, family farms, construction, and periodical sales) and by organized crime (notably for prostitution and distribution of narcotics), where they often face illegal conditions.

 

An ILO-commissioned report on "Problems of Child Labor in the Conditions of Transition in Bulgaria" published the results of a study conducted during 2000, which found that 6.4 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 17, or approximately 80,000 children, were involved in paid employment in the informal sector. Of these children, 55 percent were between the ages of 15 and 17, while 45 percent were younger than 15 years-of-age. These figures exclude children performing unpaid work within the household or on a family farm. Children's workdays often exceed the 7-hour maximum set by the Labor Code, and sometimes children did not receive overtime pay for hours worked. Underage employment in the informal and agricultural sectors is believed to be increasing because of the breakup of collective farms and the growing private sector. In addition children (particularly ethnic Turkish children) were known to perform heavy physical labor and are exposed to health hazards on family-owned tobacco farms, and local NGO's reported that children worked on non-family-owned farms for meager monetary or in-kind wages (e.g., food). NGO observers also report that institutionalized children often hired themselves out for agricultural labor for a modest income, during periods when they were allowed out of the residential facility.

 

The country ratified ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor in June 2000.

 

The law prohibits forced and bonded labor by children; however, trafficking in young girls for the purpose of prostitution was a problem (see Sections 5 and 6.f.).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

In October the Government increased the monthly minimum wage from $40 (85 leva) to $47 (100 leva). The average industrial wage is approximately $107 (246 leva). Nonpayment of wages and wage payments in arrears has been a growing problem with certain employers, including state enterprises. The CITUB labor confederation estimated that there was an overall backlog of $50 million in unpaid wage arrears owed to public sector workers and workers in enterprises which are wholly or partly state-owned. The Constitution stipulates the right to social security and welfare aid assistance for the temporarily unemployed, although in practice such assistance often was late.

 

The Labor Code provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours with at least one 24-hour rest period per week. The MLSP is responsible for enforcing both the minimum wage and the standard workweek. Enforcement generally is effective in the state sector (aside from wage arrears), but is weaker in the private sector.

 

A national labor safety program exists, with standards established by the Labor Code. The Constitution states that employees are entitled to healthy and nonhazardous working conditions, and the MLSP is responsible for enforcing these provisions. However, conditions in many cases continued to worsen due to budget constraints and the growth of a private sector that labor inspectors do not supervise effectively. Protective clothing often was absent from hazardous areas (for example, goggles for welders and helmets for construction workers). The pervasive economic crisis and imminent, long-overdue privatizations continued to engender a heightened fear of unemployment, leading to reluctance on the part of workers to pursue wage and safety demands. Legislation passed in 1999 required joint employer and labor health and safety committees to monitor workplace conditions; however, implementation was slow and these committees remained in developmental stages at year's end.

 

Under the Labor Code, employees have the right to remove themselves from work situations that present a serious or immediate danger to life or health without jeopardy to their continued employment. However, in practice refusal to work in situations with relatively high accident rates or associated chronic health problems results in the loss of employment for many workers.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

There is no law that specifically criminalizes trafficking in persons, although there are a variety of laws that can be used to arrest and prosecute traffickers; trafficking in women and girls remained a serious problem. The country is both a country of origin and a transit country for human trafficking, and to a lesser degree, a destination country. Victims overwhelmingly are women and girls trafficked for the purposes of prostitution. It is widely believed that a certain percentage of law enforcement offices or other government authorities are complicit in human trafficking.

 

Prevailing public attitudes often stigmatize victims, although there are some signs that this may be changing slowly. There is one NGO-sponsored 24-hour hot line for women in crisis, including victims of trafficking, with trained volunteers as well as professional therapists to counsel victims. The hot line also provides volunteers to assist victims in obtaining other necessary services including medical exams and treatment, reissued identity documents, and housing and employment opportunities. The NGO also operates a shelter.

 

BULGARIA - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

BULGARIA - STANDARD WORKWEEK

The Labor Code provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours with at least one 24-hour rest period per week.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Bulgaria – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)