site.btaOver Two Thirds of Employees in Bulgaria Paid Less than Cost of Living, CITUB Says

More than two thirds of employed persons in Bulgaria are paid less than the minimum they need to cover their cost of living. This transpired from the latest study by the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research (ISTUR) with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), which was made public Thursday by CITUB leader Plamen Dimitrov and CITUB Deputy Director Violeta Ivanova.

A single child family needs a combined net monthly income of BGN 2,189 to cover its expenses for food, accommodation, healthcare, and education. A working individual who lives alone needs a net monthly income of BGN 1,216, Dimitrov said.

CITUB demands the minimum wage to be increased by 17-18% a year, for four or five years in a row to reduce the number of working poor, Ivanova indicated, adding that there is a number of food and non-food products whose prices increased in the first quarter of 2022.

She stressed that there is a steep increase in the wholesale prices of: bread and grains (7.5%), milk and dairy products (6.9%), animal and vegetable oils (21.8%, sunflower oil – 30%), eggs (6.7%), and meat products (7.1%).

A reason for the March 2022 increase of average monthly cost of living is due to the accelerated growth of consumer prices caused by the spike in electricity and natural gas prices, Ivanova said.

In her words, the natural gas price has increased about fourfold, year-on-year (excluding excise duty and VAT). The price of electricity for non-household consumers has increased about five times over.

Among the other reasons for the March 2022 increase of the average monthly cost of living are the disruptions in supplies and logistics, which led to shortages of goods, increased prices of oil, copper, aluminum, cotton, coffee, oilseeds, and fertilizers, among others. In March, output prices on the domestic industry market rose by 45.2%, year-on-year, Ivanova also said.

Economic uncertainty is likely to remain high in 2022. The increase of the minimum wage by 9.2% from April 1, 2022, which came late, has been offset by the cumulative inflation rate of 12.4%, Ivanova added.