site.btaAgriculture Ministry Employees Protest Unchanged Salaries in 2022 State Budget

Employees of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA), the Executive Forest Agency (EFA), and the Hail Suppression Agency held a rally at the National Assembly building early Wednesday to protest the Parliament's Budget and Finance Committee failing to include increases in the state budget for their respective agencies operating under the Ministry of Agriculture. The protest organized by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour is a part of the "Higher income by updating the 2022 state budget" initiative that began on June 23.

Valentina Vasilionova, head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Agriculture with CITUB, told reporters that the demands include BGN 5.5 million for the Agricultural Academy in Sofia, raising the salaries in BFSA by 30% and in EFA by at least 20%, and additional BGN 8.8 million for the Ministry of Agriculture, which would be used to raise the salaries of the Ministry's field workers.

Vasilionova listed jobs that pay unacceptably low monthly salaries, such as hail cannon operator (BGN 712) and veterinarian at a BFSA regional directorate (BGN 800-900). She warned that the current system offers no incentives to young workers and is failing to keep the experienced ones.