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Employers back a EUR 660 minimum wage for 2027 while unions oppose it

1 min read

Factory workers in high-visibility vests walking into a production hall at the start of a morning shift Economy
Factory workers in high-visibility vests walking into a production hall at the start of a morning shift

The proposed rise of EUR 39.80, or 6.4%, failed to win consensus at the tripartite council, with the two main trade union confederations against it.

Bulgaria's National Council for Tripartite Cooperation failed to reach consensus on Friday 23 October on a draft government decree setting the minimum monthly wage for 2027, BTA reported. Employer organisations supported the proposed increase to EUR 660, while trade unions opposed it.

The proposal represents a rise of EUR 39.80 from this year's level of EUR 620.20, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Natalia Efremova said. She explained that it took into account the state budget's capacity as well as the social role of the minimum wage. According to the minister, the 6.4% increase exceeds annual inflation of 5.7%.

Ivelin Zhelyazkov of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association said the proposal was in line with the law and the new mechanism for setting the minimum wage, which he described as a fragile compromise reached after three years of negotiations. He noted that the minimum wage has risen by 40% since 2022. The Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria also backed the figure.

The unions took a different view. Ioannis Parteniotis, vice president of the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, said one in six workers in Bulgaria was classified as working poor and that after social security contributions and income tax, a full-time worker on EUR 660 would take home EUR 512.16. He said Bulgaria had the lowest minimum wage in the European Union.

Asya Goneva of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria said her organisation did not support the proposal and argued that the previous mechanism should have remained in force for 2027. She added that the ratio between the minimum wage and the maximum insurable income was continuing to fall.

For employers, the decision matters beyond the lowest-paid jobs, because many collective agreements, allowances and insurance thresholds are linked to the minimum wage. The final figure will be set by a Council of Ministers decree.

Sources