Public Sector in Bulgaria on Edge: Trade Union Warns of Strikes as 2026 Budget Fails

The Coordination Council of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) has expressed strong condemnation of the National Assembly’s failure to pass the 2026 state budget, the Public Health Insurance Fund budget, and the National Health Insurance Fund budget. In a statement released Friday, the union signaled its readiness to organize protests at national, sectoral, and regional levels in response to the legislative deadlock.

CITUB criticized the Parliament’s adoption of an “extension law” applying the 2025 budget for at least the first three months of 2026, describing it as a politically motivated decision that undermines income growth, living standards, and investment. “Instead of a stable macroeconomic and budgetary framework that guarantees income growth and economic security, lawmakers chose political impotence, placing the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of public-sector workers at risk,” the union said. The affected sectors include secondary and higher education, healthcare, public administration, agriculture, transport, culture, defense, security, postal services, and more.

The union emphasized that wage freezes are unacceptable. Planned increases of 10% for public-sector employees, outlined in the original 2026 budget, affecting nearly 600,000 workers, 470,000 in public institutions and 126,000 in state and municipal enterprises, are effectively canceled. The proposed 1 billion euros for salary growth will not materialize under the extension law. Instead, income will be adjusted only for accumulated 2025 inflation, which CITUB insists should be calculated using the consumer price index to achieve at least a 5% increase. Even so, the rise will be inadequate amid rising prices for essential goods and winter utility costs, potentially pushing many families into energy and consumer poverty.

CITUB further warned that strategic sectors face severe operational risks due to the lack of a new budget. Transport, healthcare, education, government administration, social services, culture, water and sanitation, agriculture, and postal services are already under pressure. The union stressed that insufficient funding for proper wages may lead to mass departures of specialists and a collapse of public services. They also highlighted the broader economic implications, noting that budgetary uncertainty and social tension come at a critical time as Bulgaria approaches eurozone membership. “Social peace cannot be sacrificed for political games,” CITUB stated.

The union concluded by underlining that social tensions are expected to rise in the coming months. CITUB declared its full readiness to lead national, sectoral, and regional protests, as well as strike actions in enterprises, to defend the rights and incomes of Bulgarian citizens. “We will not allow Bulgarian workers to bear the cost of political instability once again,” the statement warned.