In April 2010, after tough negotiations the social partners in the Bulgarian textiles and leather industry renewed their national collective agreement. The agreement was reached between the Bulgarian Association of the Knitwear Industry, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Light Industry at CITUB and the Federation of Light Industry at Bulgaria’s second largest union CL Podkrepa. It preserved a pact on wages and jobs. The parties agreed that the minimum wage for knitwear workers should be not less than 110% of the national minimum wage during normal working hours. Also, additional paid leave for those working under hazardous health conditions and compensation for work carried out during irregular hours have been agreed. It has to be noted that the agreement is mainly followed in larger companies, although the government has formally extended it to small and medium-sized businesses. Most recently, representatives of the Bulgarian textile industry have stated that they have been overwhelmed with orders and had to turn down some of them due to lack of capacity. In July and August 2010, orders in the sector increased by 18 to 22%. The vice-president of the employers’ association, Bertram Rollmann, said, “The problem is the lack of employees we lost during the crisis. We could employ up to 30,000 people in the next year.”
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2010/06/articles/bg1006019i.htm
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=120226
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