Transparency & Corruption, Pay settlements, Croatia, Bulgaria, Armenia

Health unions in Bulgaria signed a new collective agreement on 8 November which includes substantial pay increases for workers across the sector. Compared to the pay rates set in the 2016 collective agreement, the minimum wage for nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians will increase by 22% from 900 lev (EUR 460) to 1100 lev (EUR 560) a month. The basic rate for doctors and pharmacists will increase by just under 30% from 1200 lev (EUR 615) to 1550 lev (EUR 790). Higher increases of up to 50% will be paid to medical specialists.

A new collective agreement for the workers in the water sector came into effect on 2 May and will run for two years. The agreement covers a wide range of pay and conditions and includes an increase on the sector minimum wage, higher rates for night work, a special procedure to protect trade union members against dismissal, additional paid annual leave for parents, for studying and for trade union events) and an annual one week sport event for all workers in the sector.

The SDLSN trade union reports that wages for state workers have been increased by 3% from 1 January 2019 and a further increase of 2% will follow on 1 November 2019. The union also agreed with the government that negotiations over a range of rights and also increases on wages for next year would be undertaken during April and May this year.

Public sector workers will get a 4% pay rise in January 2021 along with a HRK 1500 (EUR 200) Christmas bonus. This was confirmed in negotiations in November and reflects a success for the trade unions in the face of an attempt by the government back in the summer to freeze public sector pay. SDLSN (HR)

After four rounds of negotiations it was agreed that two pay rises of 2% foreseen for this year would be postponed and paid in January 2021. The existing collective agreement provided for the pay increases along with increases in other allowances and the Christmas bonus and the government had initially wanted to freeze all pay and allowances. However, the postponement was agreed and other allowances will be increased while the Christmas bonus will be negotiated later in the year.

On 26 April, at the 14th session of negotiations between public service unions, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ union and SDLSN public administration union, and the government, it was confirmed that the general public sector pay increase will be 4% backdated to 1 April. This is a positive outcome for the trade unions as the government had been pushing for a 2% rise from 1 May and then a further 2% later in the year. The meeting was joined by six ministers along with the prime minister. The unions also secured a commitment to further negotiations on pay in September and an increase in the

The Federation of Health Unions (CITUB) and Medical Federation (Podkrepa) have signed a new collective agreement with the ministry of health that will run until April 2024. There are substantial pay increases on monthly salaries for doctors and nurses which both the trade unions and government hope will attract new workers to the sector and encourage them to remain in the country. Doctors will get an increase of BGN 800 (€400) with BGN 550 (€280) for health professionals and BGN 200 (€100) for nurses. Minimum salaries will now be BGN 1900 (€970) for specialist doctors, BGN 1500 (€765) for

The strike of members of the SDSLN trade union in the Ministry of Justice is over following a close vote to accept the government’s offer of a 12% pay increase. Although below the €400 increase aimed for, the union argues that this is a reasonable increase and goes some way to recognising that workers in the ministry had been undervalued. The SDLSN also notes that it was a significant achievement to maintain the strike and to affirm its legality in the face of legal challenges by the government. The agreement with the government also confirms that the union will be involved in the negotiations

The HSSMS-MT healthcare union reports that following the third round of public sector pay negotiations, unions have accepted a pay increase of 5%, an improvement on the 3% offer made in the second round of bargaining. The unions have also secured the €300 Christmas bonus that they were looking for and an Easter bonus of €100, less than they wanted but a €30 improvement on the previous offer. There is also a commitment that, should the new pay system not be in place by 1 March 2024, then negotiations would open for a general pay increase.

Following the threat of protests and other actions, public sector unions, including the SDLSN state sector union and HSSMS-MT nurses’ union, have secured increases to pay and other benefits. The base for setting public sector salaries will increase by 6% from 1 October this year and then by 2% from 1 April 2023. There will also be increases to the Christmas bonus, the payment of gifts to children and to holiday allowances. Negotiations for the next round of increases will take place next year at the latest in the third week of September.

The CITUB trade union confederation reports that workers in regional health inspectorates and emergency medical centres have seen substantial salary increases from the beginning of December. Regional health inspection staff have seen pay rise by up to 30% while emergency medical staff are getting around 22%. Unions have been organising a series of protests over pay since the autumn. Meanwhile, the Podkrepa trade union confederation reports that workers at the Ministry of Justice are covered by a new framework agreement that strengthens social dialogue and ensures protection of workers’ social

After lengthy negotiations a new public sector pay structure is in place that means significant increases to the coefficients used to calculate salaries for different occupations. Overall public sector workers are set to benefit on average by 13.5% in comparison to pay levels in 2023. Most unions are generally happy with the new system, including the HSSMS-MT nurses’ and health workers’ union which is one of 11 to sign the public sector collective agreement. However, other unions, including teaching unions, are unhappy with the outcome and argue that the new system fails to deliver appropriate

The Council of Ministers in Bulgaria has agreed to allocate BGN 180 million (€92 million) for a salary increase benefiting 53,000 state administration employees. This increase, averaging BGN 283 (€145) retroactively from 1 January, aims to address disparities in salaries within the public sector. A decree approved by the Council of Ministers outlines the allocation of a total of BGN 268 million (€137 million) in the budget for this purpose. The KNSB and Podkrepa federations actively participated in negotiations over the past three months to develop the methodology and distribution of these