Business, government and unions set up economic development agreement

Representatives of business, government and trade unions signed important agreements at a meeting in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. The results of the talks were presented at a special press conference by CEIBG Chairman Kiril Domuschiev, BICA Chairman Vasil Velev, Deputy Prime Minister Mariana Nikolova, Energy and Economy Ministers Temenuzhka Petkova and Emil Karanikolov, CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov and Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s President Tsvetan Simeonov.

At the meeting there were made decisions on a package of anti-crisis measures, Deputy Prime Minister Mariana Nikolova said.

Domuschiev described the agreement as "historic". "We came to the conclusion that we need to be modern employers and unions and to have a good social dialogue. We agreed to bury the tomahawks. We reached a consensus on many topics and made compromises on many topics", CEIBG Chairman explained.

“All the priorities for the next six months have been included in this agreement. It is done so that we can create good business environment. The aim is to overcome the coronavirus crisis”, Domuschiev underlined.

It was agreed that the first three days of employees’ sick leave will continued to be paid by the employers. The unions agreed not to return the income of the poorest families, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Minister Denitsa Sacheva said.

Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova thanked the social partners for the constructive dialogue. She said the energy sector development is an important factor for making Bulgarian business competitive.

"One of the most important topic of the discussion between social partners and the cabinet was the full liberalization of the electricity market. We have agreed to do it in several phases - first on the wholesale market, and then - on the retail market", Petkova announced.

Before the press conference Prime Minister Boyko Borissov also thanked the social partners. He said the joint efforts could make the country’s future brighter.