As a result of the press conference held a few days ago by Labour Union ‘Podkrepa’, which highlighted the inadequate remuneration of employees in the National Statistical Institute, the President of the NSI Assoc. Prof. Atanas Atanasov, PhD, met with Kremena Atanasova, President of the Syndicate of Administrative Employees ‘Podkrepa’, and Vanya Grigorova, Economic Advisor to the President of Labour Union ‘Podkrepa’.
The meeting again discussed the low salaries in the NSI system and the need to increase the expenditure for maintenance, which has not been done for years.
Kremena Atanasova and Vanya Grigorova stressed that the union will support the demands of the NSI for at least a 30% increase in wages and an increase in expenditure for maintenance, which will also lead to improved working conditions.
Assoc. Prof. Atanasov, PhD, noted that more than a month ago, through the Deputy Prime Minister, he had sent a letter about the situation in the NSI and had requested a meeting with the Minister of Finance, but no response had been received. He pointed out that for almost a year now there has been a signed Commitment of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria regarding trust in statistics, a document required by Eurostat, which should guarantee the professional independence of Bulgarian statistics, including the provision of financial and human resources necessary to maintain and improve the quality of official statistics.
Union representatives confirmed their intention to organise a national protest at the end of the week to demand decent pay for workers in both the private sector and the public administration. The protest will subsequently escalate into one-hour strikes and, if necessary, indefinite effective strike action.
