Social Services, Strike, Bulgaria

The CITUB confederation organised a national demonstration on 27 October calling for a 100 BGN (50 EUR) pay rise for all workers. The protest will also focus on the public services with the proposed budget for 2018 allowing for only a 5% pay increase while unions representing health and social service and other public services are calling for a 10% increase. Another slogan of the demonstration is protection of workers' rights as the government is planning to cut entitlement related to job security and sick pay.EPSU sent a solidarity message.

Public service unions joined the national protest on 27 November calling for action to defend and improve sickness absence rules. Under the slogan "sick workers are not criminals" the Podkrepa confederation called for workers to be covered by sick pay from the first day of absence and for a range of other measures on sick leave and working time. Meanwhile on the same day social workers from the administrative services union in Podkrepa took an hour's strike action calling for a 40% pay increase.

Over 1500 employees of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) took part in a one-hour warning strike on 13 June organised by trade unions in the CITUB and Podkrepa confederations. The unions are calling for an increase on the basic salaries of all NHIF employees and the creation of at least 200 new full-time positions to ensure that the service can copes with new demand on the NHIF. The unions estimate that an extra BGN 10 million (€5.1m) is needed to cover these costs and wants to ensure that this is include in the NHIF budget for 2022. NHIF workers are highly qualified specialists