Bulgaria Interior Ministry Employees Hit the Streets

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry employees have staged a number of rallies over the last year, demanding better pay and working condition and a crack down on corruption in the sector. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's Interior Ministry employees are going to gather at a rally on Sunday to protest against the proposal that civil servants should be obliged to pay their own insurances.

They may be joined in the streets that day by tax officials, who share their grievance about insurance payments.

Bulgaria Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov has stated that his ministry employees will not accept any cut in wages and has vowed to attend the protest himself.

"Tomorrow, I shall attend the protest as the employer of all staff at the Interior Ministry," he pledged on Friday. "There is no way to solve the claims and issues they have, if we differentiate between each other."

"Following the same logic, the professional management may refuse to talk with the protesters," he added in relation to the forthcoming protest by the police.

Tsvetanov said that the allegations of police trade union leaders of the police union that something may happen as the policemen are armed, should not be taken seriously.

"We will not allow a reduction in wages in the system of law enforcement, whatever measures are taken. I think certain people are seeking to make the situation more tense, rather than to seek pragmatic solutions on the issue," said Tsvetanov.

"The inability to secure funds now is due to what happened in the past. There are many complex issues that have been inherited, that need to be solved in a short period of time. It is very easy to go into deficit by throwing money around and meeting the claims of all professional organizations," Tsvetanov pointed out

The rally comes amid expectations that Bulgaria is going to see a surge of protests within the next several days, with a number of sectors warning of strike action and demonstrations.

The trade unions have confirmed their readiness to begin active protests and strike action to defend their members, the entire workforce and all Bulgarian citizens from what they have called the “draconian anti-crisis measures” of the new center-right government.

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