CITUB and "Podkrepa" trade unions insist on income growth to compensate for the estimated inflation for the year, but not lower than 15%, Plamen Dimitrov and Dimitar Manolov, leaders of the two unions, said at a joint press conference.

According to them, the minimum monthly wage should become EUR 435 on June 1 this year and not in 2024, as the parliament decided. From the beginning of next year, the lowest income must reach 512 euros a month. Unions are also calling for a tax-free minimum wage in order to stimulate consumption and reduce inequality.

The CITUB leader said that readiness for protests was rising sharply, as employees in the Sofia public transport, postal workers and employees in the water supply sector want wage rise. "We will not and cannot refrain from such actions," he added.