The KNSB trade union will push for public sector pay to rise by at least 10% a year on average, not the 5% set in the budget, union president Plamen Dimitrov told reporters in Sofia. KNSB expects inflation of 7% to 9%, so with a 5% rise real wages would fall behind prices.
Last week Dimitrov also put the union's case to prime minister Rumen Radev.
Earlier on this story: Unions want pay rises above 5% ahead of talks with minister Donev
"I very much hope our talks will turn into real action," Dimitrov said before a forum at KNSB headquarters. The forum is for the Club of Chairs of Trade Union Organisations in Branches of Multinational Companies in Bulgaria, and KNSB and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Bulgaria organised it.
A 10% rise would need about €250m extra. Dimitrov says this sum could go into the budget in the first half of the year, and the 10% could come in several steps. The second step could take effect from the start of April 2027. KNSB expects a rise of more than 5% in budget-sector pay after New Year.
Dimitrov says the money could come from civil service reform. That would need an analysis of what each office does and of staff workloads, a review of staff numbers and posts, and extra money for pay. He believes the civil service has many vacant posts and duplicated work. If the government does not want to give more money to individual agencies, he suggests keeping it in the central budget, under the finance minister.
He says there are ways to do it and KNSB is ready to discuss them. The government, for its part, has said it will fix the gaps in pay.
There is no final version of the budget yet. At the latest tripartite council meeting, there was still no final proposal for the minimum wage.