The railway workers' union at KNSB says it does not know how or on what terms BDZ staff will move to the private operator Ivkoni Express. Union head Petar Bunev told BNT the move is due on 13 December.
The union wants the move to be voluntary, and wants workers to get full details of the terms first. It has sent official letters to the transport minister, BDZ and Ivkoni Express. It has offered to send a representative to explain the terms to staff, but this has not happened so far.
The two sides also use different words for the move, Bunev said. The authorities speak of a "transfer", the union of a "move". "Just as they will transfer carriages and locomotives, they want to transfer the people in the same way," he said.
Tension is rising among railway workers because of unofficial reports that they could be sent to another operator without their consent. Bunev said that when there is no information, people feel unsure and rumours spread.
Of the train drivers at the locomotive depot in Gorna Oryahovitsa, 79 are set to go to Ivkoni Express and 60 to BDZ.
Bunev said the law and the current collective labour agreement require working conditions and pay to stay the same for the first year after the move. The agreement stays in force for one year, and pay in that time must not differ. "But what happens after a year, nobody says," he added.
Staff who have already moved to the private operator have reported possible changes to their terms after the first year. Workers worry most about their jobs and about what comes after that year. Bunev said they have probably checked the company's rating and what kind of employer it is, because Ivkoni Express "was not set up overnight".
For that reason, staff need clear information about future pay and conditions before they decide. Bunev said he cannot predict whether many people will leave BDZ for the private operator.
At first, he expects the service to get worse and staff to run short. He says too few people are preparing the move, and they do not inform or ask the regional units. For the change to work, staff need timely information, clear rules on who goes to the new operator, and guaranteed rights.
The union opposed this model, and the transport minister has also publicly voiced doubts about the contract. The contract is now a fact and will go ahead, so Bunev says the focus should now be on carrying it out.
Unofficially, the union knows a meeting has taken place and steps have been taken. Bunev said there are enough training places in the sector, but no applicants, and that is the big problem. Young people will come if pay is higher and working conditions are better.