Bulgarian Railway Workers Keep Striking, Talks Break Down

The Bulgarian Railways strike started on November 24 and is entering its 15th day Thursday. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Thursday's negotiations between syndicates and employers in the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) did not lead to any constructive solutions and the workers will continue their strike.

On Wednesday, the BDZ governing body proposed changes to the collective labor contract from 2009, but the only proposal accepted by the striking workers was the new bonus system set to be launched in 2012.

The striking workers insist on signing the collective labor agreement as it is and oppose to any wage drops, while also demanding the resignations of BDZ CEO Yordan Nedev and Vladimir Vladimirov, Chair of the Board of Directors of BDZ Holding.

"We discussed the matter with our colleagues from across the country. Our colleagues are against any decrease in wages and they are absolutely right," Rosen Zarkov from the Podkrepa (Support) labor union commented, as cited by the BGNES news agency.

The labor unions have vowed to stage an effective,  mass, termless strike after the recent notice of the management of the heavily indebted state-owned railway company BDZ Holding that it intended to lay off 2 000 workers, and reduce the number of trains in operation by 150 (later scaled down to 138) by January 2012.

In addition, ticket prices along state-subsidized routes will be increased by 9% as of January 1, 2012, and those of "business trains", i.e. the handful of profitable railway routes in Bulgaria – by 15% as December 1, 2011.

The strike began on November 24.

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