Parliament Rejects Labor Code Amendments for Mothers

With 85 votes "for", 21 "against", and 93 "abstentions", the parliament rejected the proposal by the political formation "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) for changes in the Labor Code. The proposed amendments provided for an increase in the compensation for unused maternity leave from 50% to 100%. This decision, which sparked controversy in the corridors, highlights the complex dynamics of political relationships and priorities in the legislative power.

The proposed amendment, which was to be introduced into the Labor Code, received support from several political forces. Among them, WCC-DB, "Revival", "Alliance for Rights and Freedoms" (ARF), "Morality, Unity, Honor" (MUH), and "Greatness" stood out. Despite this support, the proposal met resistance from some of the people's representatives. Seven MPs from GERB-UDF and the political formation "There Is Such a People" (ITN) voted "against". A significant group of people's representatives preferred to abstain. This included the GERB-UDF group, "DPS-New Beginning", "BSP-United Left", as well as one MP from ITN and two independent people's representatives.

The authors of the proposal, WCC-DB, motivated the need for changes in the Social Security Code in order to provide additional support to mothers who wish to return to work earlier. According to them, this will create economic incentives for a faster recovery of the labor force, while also ensuring better social protection for mothers. The increase in compensation was presented as an incentive for mothers to return to the labor market faster, which will have a positive effect on the economy, increasing revenues to the budget from contributions on their salaries. WCC-DB emphasized that in this way the aim is to balance the social protection of mothers with the economic benefit of their faster return to work. It is important to note that, according to the proposers of the proposal, the proposed measures would not lead to additional costs for the budget.