Draft Decree of the Council of Ministers on determining a new amount of the minimum wage for the country in 2016.

MR IVAILLO CALFIN
DEPUTY MINISTER-PRESIDENT
ON DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL POLICY,
MINISTER OF LABOR AND SOCIAL POLICY I
CHAIRMAN OF NSTS

REGARDING: Draft Decree of the Council of Ministers on setting a new amount of the minimum wage for the country in 2016.

DEAR MR CALFIN,

On the occasion of the proposed increase in the amount of the minimum wage from January 1, 2016, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, after discussing within the Committee "Taxes and Law" the proposed increase, expresses the following position:

In principle, KRIB would not object to an increase in the minimum wage. For us, it is extremely important that the minimum wage be untied as an element of the fiscal system. In our view, there are still a number of fees and fines depending on the amount of the minimum wage, and we believe that these payments put a much greater burden on businesses than the amount of the minimum wage itself. Taking into account that KRIB is a member of not only large enterprises, but also small ones, and in the main part of them the wages are above the minimum wage for the country, the proposed increase would not have a direct impact.

In the process of the conducted consultations, KRIB has more than once raised the issue of changing the mechanism for determining the amount of the MRZ. We currently have such a mechanism, it is clear for all partners, PMS after consultation with the social partners. Such a mechanism also exists in other European Union member countries. When we talk about preparing a mechanism for determining the minimum wage in the country, we rather mean that its determination is based on consultations and negotiations between the social partners and the government, based on certain criteria and indicators on which to rely and lead the dialogue, t .is the parties together must determine the factors that should be taken into account when determining the amount of the MRL and, as a result of effective dialogue and partnership, arrive at a unified decision on the determination of the amount of the MRL. Given that such a mechanism does not exist, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria cannot support the proposed increase in the minimum wage.

With respect,
Eugene Ivanov
Ex. director