The CITUB trade union wants the minimum wage raised to €690 and incomes up by 10%, union president Plamen Dimitrov said in a radio interview. He said talks with finance minister Galab Donev are not over and the planned €660 is not the final figure.
On Thursday the union rejected that €660, which appears in a draft government decree put out for public comment.
How it all started: Bulgaria's largest union rejects €660 minimum wage, wants €690
The last meeting with the minister was on Friday, before CITUB's protest rally. It ended with a promise to redo the sums. Dimitrov added that there had been many meetings, and this should also be taken into account.
The union leader denied that CITUB had backed away from what was agreed. He said the union had given up nothing. The two sides agreed on a new way to set the minimum wage, but it cannot be used for 2027 because the budget process is nearly over.
Under the old system the wage should have reached €690, Dimitrov said. People have waited for it a long time, and the union sees any other figure as unacceptable.
The 10% is needed to bring incomes at least a little closer to prices, he said. Since last year, CITUB has checked a small basket of 21 basic goods every month in shops in 81 municipalities. The union says its average price has risen by more than 9%.
Unusually high prices appear on the market every day, Dimitrov said. Inspectors and the government promised to curb price rises but failed, and now, he said, that is very hard, if not almost impossible. What is left is for higher incomes to win back at least part of people's buying power, meaning more goods for one wage.
CITUB's demands would cost about €350m extra, against a state budget expected to be close to €60bn. The union is sure the money can be found and has already given the minister specific proposals. By CITUB's estimate, they would bring in about €1.1bn in extra revenue.
Dimitrov believes the finance ministry, as is its habit, underestimates economic growth, as it did under earlier governments. When the economy produces more than expected, the base for taxes and social contributions is higher and revenue beats the plan.
The procedure under the new system starts in May, under the regulation and the changes to the Labour Code.