Third Day of Public Transport Strike in Sofia: Disruptions May Continue Through the Weekend

Ground public transport in Sofia, including buses, trolleybuses, and trams, might remain suspended throughout Saturday and Sunday due to a strike initiated by drivers from the "Zemlyane" garage. Today marks the third consecutive day of halted transport services as the metro continues to operate with additional trains and reduced intervals across all four lines, as reported by BGNES.

Earlier today, the drivers from the "Zemlyane" garage declared Mayor Vasil Terziev’s proposals from yesterday as unacceptable. They insist that if salaries for drivers, mechanics, and depot staff do not increase by 400 leva - or at least 300 leva - many workers will consider seeking employment elsewhere. Meanwhile, Terziev has scheduled a meeting with the unions for Monday, but he characterized their demands as excessive. He noted that a 180 leva increase, though seemingly modest, would result in a 55 million leva deficit in the transport budget.

The Education Directorate has been instructed to assess how many teachers and students managed to navigate the city despite the lack of public transport. Additionally, the city administration plans a comprehensive review of all transport companies to determine if a single operator model would be more efficient, as stated by Vassilev.

Despite the ongoing strike, the metro remains operational with increased capacity to accommodate the surge in passengers. On this rainy Friday morning, bike lanes and pedestrian areas, particularly around Yuzhen Park, were crowded with commuters using alternative modes of transport. Ticket counters in metro stations reported higher traffic as commuters adjusted to the ongoing disruption.

The striking workers continue to emphasize that their demand is for a fixed salary increase, not bonuses, as bonuses create uncertainty. A phased salary increase plan has been proposed by the unions, seeking a 400 leva raise this year, followed by 500 leva in 2026 and 600 leva in 2027. However, yesterday’s negotiations with Mayor Terziev did not yield any agreement after nearly four hours of talks.

Meanwhile, lawyer Georgi Valev, specializing in labor law, commented on the implications of the strike on BNR. He clarified the difference between a protest and a strike, noting that during a strike, workers must remain at the workplace, while a protest involves leaving the premises. Valev also highlighted the legal obligation to maintain essential transport services, arguing that the metro should not be halted even during the strike to prevent a total citywide paralysis.

In a televised interview on BNT, Andrey Zografski, a municipal councilor from "Spasi Sofia," described the strikers’ actions as an attempt to pressure the city administration. Zografski acknowledged that while the transport sector is demanding, the municipality had already implemented a 15% salary increase last year, alongside a bonus system of 300 leva per employee, a rate he claims outpaces both inflation and average salary growth in Sofia. He cautioned that maintaining such increases annually is unsustainable given the city’s stagnant revenue.

On the other hand, Ivan Kirilov, chairman of the Federation of Transport Workers at the "Podkrepa" Confederation, defended the workers’ demands as entirely justified, attributing the escalation to a lack of dialogue with the city administration. He emphasized that the workers had warned of potential disruptions during a protest on April 14 but received no response from municipal officials. Kirilov argued that the current impasse is the result of poor political management and expressed disappointment with the outcome of the latest negotiations, which he described as unproductive.