Unions stage a protest demanding ‘dignified pay’ for the public sector

With the slogan “No to the division of workers! Yes to higher incomes!” the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB/KNSB) held a protest in front of the Members’ Entrance of the National Assembly. The demonstration took place ahead of the second reading of the 2026 state budget.

The trade unionists expressed dissatisfaction with the budget and income-policy parameters and called on MPs to allocate an additional €62 million to enable at least a 10% increase in public-sector wages.

Staged as a pre-Christmas event, the protest featured a Christmas tree and gift boxes — some of them empty, BNR’s Tsvetelina Stoyanova reports. CITUB chief economist Lyuboslav Kostov, dressed as Santa Claus, remarked: “Obviously, some people haven’t been good this year, so there’s no money for them to get a pay rise.”