Bulgaria - Union confederation demands higher public sector wage growth - February 28, 2026

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) will request higher wages for public sector employees once the procedure for adopting the regular 2026 state budget begins. The minimum demand of the union is a 10% wage increase, or about € 1 billion in additional funding. The currently planned 5% increase does not cover all sectors and the employees in education, science, municipal healthcare and culture may not receive the necessary pay rise, said the union leader. He predicted growing public tension due to the lack of wage increases, higher electricity bills and rising prices.

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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.