Staff at the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office (SRP) have launched a national petition against the draft 2027 budget, the organisers said. They object to the planned 5% pay rise and to the cut in money for work clothing.
Staff at all courts, prosecutors' offices and investigative bodies in Bulgaria can sign it. The signatures will go to the Supreme Judicial Council, parliament's budget committee, the finance ministry, professional associations and unions in the judicial system.
On Friday, staff will protest outside the SRP and Sofia District Court buildings under the slogan "The Invisible Ones in the Judicial System".
The organisers say the changes hit the lowest-paid people in the system. These workers are not to blame for its problems, they say, but will bear the cost. "We don't want anyone else to pay our bills. We want to be able to pay them with our wages," the staff said.
A court employee at the SRP starts on a basic pay of €718 a month after tax. National Statistical Institute data for the second quarter of 2026 show average gross monthly pay in Sofia of €1,943.
Staff say this is the biggest prosecutors' office in Bulgaria and one of the busiest, in the most expensive city. There are about 0.8 staff members for each prosecutor there. Housing, food, transport and childcare cost a lot in the capital, so low pay is a big problem, they say.
Low pay makes it hard to attract and keep skilled people. When experienced staff leave, the workload for those who stay grows.
The staff say they do not want to keep the extra benefits at any cost. If the money for work clothing goes, they want the loss of yearly income made up with a permanent rise in basic monthly pay, separate from the general indexation.
Behind every case, prosecutor's act, summons and court document is the work of staff who handle huge amounts of information, track legal deadlines and answer for the accuracy of every step. "Their work is rarely seen by the public, but it is needed for the judicial system to work normally," they write in their statement.