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Unions, businesses and the government in Bulgaria fail to agree on poverty line

Photo: BTA

The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation held a meeting at which a draft decree of the Council of Ministers was considered on determining the poverty line for the country for 2025. The Government proposes to raise the poverty line from 526 BGN /268.94 EUR/ to 638 BGN / 326.2 EUR/ for 2025. According to the government, this will expand the scope of vulnerable people who can be supported through social payments from the state. With this, the relative share of the poor population in Bulgaria is expected to decrease by 2.3% - to 20.6% of the country's population.

Employers' organizations backed the cabinet's proposed rate against the backdrop of forecast inflation for 2025 of just 2.6%.

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) are not satisfied with the decision. The trade union insists that the line be at the level of 667 BGN /341.03 EUR/. According to CITUB, the methodology for determining the poverty line should be changed by defining the minimum needs to guarantee a minimum per household person. The union also insists on the adoption of the so-called living wage in Bulgaria.



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