* The second periodic report concerning rights covered by articles 6 to 9 submitted by the Government of Bulgaria (E/1984/7/Add.18) was considered by the Sessional Working Group of Governmental Experts on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its 1985 session (see E/1985/WG.1/SR.9 and 11). The second periodic report concerning rights covered by articles 10 to 12 (E/1986/4/Add.20) was considered by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its second session (see E/C.12/1988/SR.17-19) in 1988.
Paragraphs
Introduction 1 - 4
I. General provisions of the Covenant 5 - 8
Article 1 5
Article 2 6 - 8
II. Specific rights contained in the Covenant 9 - 355
Article 6 9 - 37
Article 7 38 - 76
Article 8 77 - 102
Article 9 103 - 120
Article 10 121 - 162
Article 11 163 - 228
Article 12 229 - 278
Article 13 279 - 311
Article 14 312
Article 15 313 - 355
1. In accordance with the revised general guidelines regarding the form and contents of reports to be submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the present report deals with the most important amendments in Bulgaria's national legislation and practice, relevant to the rights proclaimed in the International Covenant. Additional references can be found in the above-mentioned reports as well as the statement by the representative of the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria in introducing the reports together with the answers to the questions raised during the discussion.
2. Following the submission of the first and second reports in 1984 and 1987 respectively, radical political, economic and social changes took place in the Republic of Bulgaria, particularly between 1989 and 1995. They brought an end to one-party rule, established political pluralism, and promoted democracy and the rule of law. The Grand National Assembly, convened in 1990, adopted in 1991 a new Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria which revoked the Constitution of 1971 and established State and public activities on the principles of democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law and freedom of economic enterprise. Instead of a centralized and regulated planning system, Bulgaria moved towards a system of free-market economy. The national economy was sharply liberalized through the introduction of a monetary strategy for reforms. A number of successive governments were the result of democratic elections. Wide vistas opened up for the development of the personal and public initiatives of citizens. All this sums up the character of the transitional period which Bulgarian society is going through, as are other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
3. Notwithstanding the positive aspects and achievements of this period, both the State and the citizens have been confronted with considerable difficulties. As a result of the collapse of Eastern European plans for economic integration and certain ill-judged internal and foreign policy decisions, the fundamental relationships between production and technology were heavily impaired. Industry and agriculture lost their traditional markets in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The international sanctions imposed in connection with the war in the Persian Gulf and the crisis in the former Yugoslavia took a heavy toll on Bulgaria's economy. Because of enormous difficulties in supply and marketing, coupled with restrictive credit and taxation policies, the majority of the State-run enterprises are in enormous financial difficulties. The private sector has been developing mainly in the spheres of commerce and services; less in that of production. Privatization as a process is moving forward with difficulty. Continuous political instability and delayed reorganization of the legal system is frightening away prospective foreign investment. The agrarian reform has brought agriculture to a crisis situation, instead of providing an impetus to the other branches of the economy to overcome their critical situation. As a result of these and other factors, gross national product (GNP) and the production of the basic branches of the economy reached unprecedentedly low levels in time of peace. Bulgarian society has been confronted for the first time with such negative phenomena as unemployment, drug addiction, a high crime rate, etc.
4. The promotion of fundamental human rights and particularly those in the economic, social and cultural fields is being carried out in these conditions, which, while offering new opportunities, are bringing the society face to face with unprecedented difficulties. Human rights underlie the Constitution of 1991. Thus, the system of values and norms of modern-day individualism, which is the basis of the market economy, was given legal recognition and was regulated by the highest legislative act of the country. Legal, institutional and cultural prerequisites were created for the country to move towards a new stage in modernizing society and in the comprehensive development of the individual. In spite of the expectations of the majority of the people at the beginning of the 1990s, the transition towards a market economy and democratic political institutions turned out to be rather long and to have a high economic price. This, hopefully, will be revealed in the present report, which reflects Bulgarian legislation and official statistics as at 1 October 1995.
Article 1
6. The Constitution of Bulgaria guarantees the equality of citizens before the law (art. 6). The Constitution prohibits any discrimination, privileges or restrictions, based on race, nationality, ethnic origin, sex, descent, religion, education, convictions, political affiliation, and personal or social or property status (art. 6.2). In this way it guarantees the rights recognized in the Covenant to all citizens of Bulgarian and non-Bulgarian descent. This principle is featured also in the existing Bulgarian legislation. No distinctions whatever are allowed with regard to Bulgarian citizens of Bulgarian and non-Bulgarian origin.
7. As stated in the preceding paragraph, article 6, paragraph 2, of the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, nationality, ethnic origin, etc. This prohibition is relevant to all the rights proclaimed by the Covenant, as the latter, by virtue of the provisions of article 5, paragraph 4, of the Constitution, is part of the national legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria. This prohibition is specifically applied with respect to the following:
(a) Labour rights (the right to work, the right to rest, the right to paid holidays, the right to remuneration, the right to good occupational safety and health conditions, the right of professional association). Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Labour Code states: "In the implementation of labour rights and obligations no discrimination, preferences and/or privileges, or restrictions, based on nationality, origin, sex, race, political and religious convictions and beliefs, membership in trade unions and other public organizations and movements, public and material status shall be allowed". Article 172, paragraph 2 of the Penal Code states: "Whoever intentionally prevents someone from taking a job or forces him or her to leave his or her job because of nationality, race, religion, social status, membership or non-membership in political parties, organizations, movements and coalitions because of his political or other convictions, shall be liable to imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to 30,000 (thirty thousand) leva";
(b) The right to education. Article 4, paragraph 2, of the Law on National Education (published in the State Gazette No. 86, 1991) states: "There shall be no restrictions or preferences and/or privileges based on race, nationality, sex, ethnic or social origin, religion and social status".
8. The Republic of Bulgaria participates in cooperation for development. This cooperation is also being used to develop the rights contained in the Covenant. Below are some of the specific programmes:
(a) "Women in development", which began in 1994, is aimed at perfecting the system of statistics dealing with the situation of women (BUL - 93 - 001);
(b) "Assistance for the transition towards a market economy" began in 1994 and is aimed, inter alia, at assisting enterprises in the period of transition while preserving and developing employment (BUL - 93 - 002);
(c) "Social security reform" began in 1993 with the aim of preparing a National White Paper on social security in connection with the reform of the legal system relating to social security (BUL - 94 - 001);
(d) "National information system for ecological monitoring and control of agricultural lands" began in 1994 with the aim of identifying polluted land and of developing the cadastral register of agricultural land (BUL - 94 - 002);
(e) "Food quality control system" began in 1994 with the aim of assisting food manufacturers to improve the quality of foodstuffs and to meet the demands of the market (BUL - 94 - XXX);
(f) "Ecological monitoring and control of the pollution of the Maritza River basin" began in 1994 with the aim of establishing a pilot system for a drinking water authority, which could be employed on a nationwide level (BUL - 94 - 003).
9. The Republic of Bulgaria is a party to ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111); International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The Republic of Bulgaria regularly submits its periodic reports dealing with the implementation of the ILO Convention in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO. As for ILO Convention No. 122, which Bulgaria has not yet ratified, though the necessary steps for ratification have been undertaken, the Government submits overview reports in accordance with article 19 of the Constitution. The latest reports were submitted in 1993. The second and third consolidated report of Bulgaria concerning the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1994.
10. Following a constant increase in employment during the years of centralized planning and regulation of the economy, a sharp and systematic decline has been observed in the number of Bulgarian citizens employed since 1989. The first official registration of the unemployed in Bulgaria began in 1990. According to the National Statistical Institute employment in Bulgaria diminished by 26.2 per cent, i.e. from 4,365,000 to 3,221,838 in the period 1989 to 1993. The employment rate of 2.3 per cent in 1989 reached 13 per cent in 1991. In 1992-1993 the downward trend continued although at a slower rate, as can be seen in the following table: / The source of the statistical data contained in all tables is the 1995 Yearbook of the National Statistical Institute, unless otherwise indicated./
11. The decrease in employment has affected nearly 2 million / White Book on the situation of the country at the beginning of the mandate of the thirty-seventh National Assembly, published in the daily Duma, 22 March 1995./ persons mainly in the State and cooperative sectors. These job losses were not counterbalanced by the private sector where employment rose from 239,000 to 743,000 in one year. Private sector employment rose from 5.5 per cent in 1989 to 35.9 per cent in 1993. According to the National Labour Employment Agency the rate of unemployment on 31 December 1994 was 12.8 per cent, whereas by August 1995 it had gone down to 10.7 per cent; on 31 August 1995, the total number of unemployed persons stood at 406,959. The average number of job vacancies available every month was 15,352 in 1991, 10,260 in 1992, 8,403 in 1993, 10,997 in 1994 and 15,299 by August 1995. Industry accounted for the biggest drop in employment during the period 1990-1994 (56.5 per cent), followed by construction and building (42.9 per cent).
12. The following are some of the basic characteristics of unemployment in Bulgaria:
(a) The 30-year-olds accounted for 43 per cent of the unemployed at the end of 1993; unemployment stood at 38 per cent among 24-year-olds;
(b) Unskilled labour accounted for a rather high percentage among the unemployed - 52.8 per cent by the end of 1993; / Ibid., p. 13./
(c) Unemployment is predominant in the production sector. The rural economy was seriously affected by the return of private property and agricultural reform. Employment is only in such sectors as finance, credit, insurance and management;
(d) There are significant regional variations in the number of the unemployed: most affected are the peripheral mountainous regions (because production was discontinued in workshops and branches of the big companies). The level of unemployment is higher than the national average in the districts of Montana, Plovdiv, Rousse, Sofia, and Haskovo;
(e) Long-term (over a year) unemployment accounted for more than 30 per cent of the total by the end of 1993; / Ibid./
(f) Unemployed persons having a right to compensation and unemployment allowances accounted for 36.5 per cent of all the unemployed by the end of 1993.
13. The percentages of unemployed by age and sex at the end of 1994 were as follows:
14. There were 488,442 registered unemployed persons at the end of 1994, of whom 265,430 were women. By age groups, the figures are as follows: up to 29 - 199,234 (108,520 women); 30-49 - 237,288 (134,340 women); over 50 - 406,657 (August 1995), of whom 226,531 were women and 975 handicapped. A breakdown of the age groups shows the following: up to 24 years of age - 109,657; 25-29 -59,890; 30-44 - 148,664; 45-49 - 43,797; over 50 - 44,951.
15. Unemployment is a new social phenomenon for Bulgarian society and steps have already been taken to begin coping with it:
(a) A basis of normative acts to deal with unemployment has been created by Decree No. 57 of the Council of Ministers of 1989 for redirecting to other branches and effective employment of laid-off personnel (State
Gazette No. 96 of 1989; amendments in No. 81 of 1990, Nos. 23, 49 and 91 of 1991, Nos. 35, 43, 59 and 90 of 1992; amendments in Nos. 26, 68 and 69 of 1993; amendments in No. 96 of 1994), Decree No. 110 of the Council of Ministers of 1991 on measures to resolve urgent problems in employment and unemployment (State Gazette No. 49 of 1991, amendments in No. 91 of 1991, Nos. 35 and 90 of 1992), as well as other normative acts of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Labour and Social Services. They regulate the labour and insurance rights of the unemployed, and the obligations of employers and the State in preventing and curbing unemployment. Unfortunately, a general law on employment has long been in the making but has not yet been adopted;
(b) A National Employment Agency was set up under the Ministry of Labour and Social Services to register those unemployed who are actively seeking employment; to register jobs offered by employers; to offer jobs to persons actively seeking employment; to implement social security for the unemployed. The agency has set up 9 regional employment centres and 120 labour offices;
(c) A secondary labour market began to emerge as a result of the high rate of unemployment and the small number of job vacancies;
(d) A programme for temporary employment in public spheres was prepared in 1993, and is now in the process of being implemented;
(e) There are programmes of alternative employment for laid-off workers and employees in those regions where uranium mining is being closed down and where ore mining is being reorganized;
(f) There is a programme for the employment of young people;
(g) There is also a programme for the employment of laid-off persons belonging to ethnic minorities.
16. Presently, the Republic of Bulgaria is not in a position to adopt special measures with a view to ensuring productive employment. An ILO team for Central and Eastern Europe has recommended the adoption of special measures in this respect. This is a task yet to be done. As a beginning, steps have been taken to encourage full productive employment, which is impossible under the present conditions.
17. The Bulgarian constitutional, labour and penal legislation contain important provisions guaranteeing the freedom of work and the compliance of the working conditions with the basic political and economic freedoms of the individual:
(a) The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, article 48, paragraph 3, states: "Everyone shall be free to choose his or her profession and place of work";
(b) Labour Code:
(i) Article 2, paragraph 2, states: "This Code is aimed at ensuring the freedom and protection of labour as well as just and honorable working conditions";
(ii) Article 8, paragraph 3: "In implementing labour rights and obligations there shall not be any discrimination, preferences, or restrictions based on nationality, origin, sex, race, political and religious convictions and beliefs, membership in trade union and other public organizations and movements, social and material status";
(iii) Article 326, paragraph 1: "A Worker and/or an Employee can terminate his or her labour contract by forwarding a written notification to that effect to the Employer";
(c) The Penal Code, article 172, paragraph 1 states: "Whoever prevents by pressure anyone from taking a job or forces him/her to leave his/her job because of their nationality, race, religion, social origin, membership or non-membership in political parties, organizations, movements or coalitions, because of political aims or because of his/her political or other convictions and those of his/her relatives and relations, shall be punished by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30,000 leva."
18. The right of citizens to professional qualification is guaranteed by article 53 (6) of the Constitution, which reads as follows: "The State shall ... provide opportunities for occupational qualification and retraining". This right is recognized in articles 229-237 of the Labour Code, as well as decree No. 57 of the Council of Ministers of 1989 for redirecting to other branches and effective employment of laid-off personnel, as well as other normative acts of an interministerial and ministerial nature.
19. Schools and educational institutions providing professional training shall be considered in the chapter dealing with education (art. 13).
20. Measures for professional qualification and training of the elderly are in compliance with and are a basic element of the measures on employment. Professional qualification programmes are often a fundamental element of the national, branch and regional employment programmes, as well as in different enterprises. Independent labour qualification programmes are now being prepared and made use of, such as:
(a) a programme for education, training and employment for the Plovdiv region, specifically meant for neighbourhoods with a mixed ethnic population. Under the programme 700 persons receive free training to acquire a profession, additional training and professional qualification and retraining. The programme is expected to have economic and social effects. It was also introduced in the city of Pazardjik, where 100 Roma went through training courses. Another programme called "From Social Care to Employment" was set up for the unemployed on welfare in the towns of Vidin, Isperikh, and Lom;
(b) a National Programme for Youth Employment has also been launched in which the pilot project "Training and Retraining" is the basis for encouraging youth employment. It also provides for professional qualification and requalification of young experts and skilled young workers in enterprises which face either restructuring or being closed down as a result of the country's economic reforms; it also includes training of young people with an elementary and secondary education but with no profession, practical training of young people with high school and university diplomas, and training of young people to begin their own businesses;
(c) Another programme called Programme for Professional Training and Rehabilitation of Persons with Impaired Eyesight aims at solving the employment problems of persons belonging to this disadvantaged group. There are also possibilities for training programmes for other disadvantaged groups and individuals;
(d) A programme called System of Professional Orientation and Consultation of Youth and the Elderly in Conditions of Market-Economy Transition is about to be put into effect.
21. Other programmes are about to be prepared to deal with the professional training of underprivileged and disadvantaged groups in the labour market such as young people, the disabled and the long-term unemployed. Their training will be done on the basis of the results of the consulting services project in professional training of the elderly, undertaken with the assistance of the World Bank.
22. The efforts to ensure full, productive and freely chosen employment in the Republic of Bulgaria face a number of objective and subjective difficulties in the current transitional period. Labour market policies at present are not aimed at securing full employment, but rather at promoting active measures on the part of the labour market.
23. The basic objective difficulty is the fact that the monetary and fiscal measures being taken now have a definite impact on the process of supply and demand for manpower and have resulted in a huge reduction in employment in the State and cooperative sectors. The expectations of a speedy development of the private sector failed to materialize and the latter was unable to take on those laid off from the State and cooperative sectors. To this one must add the economic heritage left from the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and its deformed production structure, predominantly well-developed and military oriented heavy industry and electrical engineering, the loss of existing markets and the difficult access to new ones, the changes in the form of land ownership, agricultural reform, etc.
24. Among the subjective difficulties are the lack of experience in managing the labour market, inadequate training of those working in the national employment agency, the failure of those citizens who have been compelled to change their professions to adjust psychologically, politicians underestimating the problems of unemployment, etc. These difficulties are still being tackled.
25. As was pointed out earlier (see art. 2), Bulgarian legislation prohibits discrimination in the field of labour and professions in accordance with the requirements of ILO Convention No. 111, and proclaims the freedom and equality of labour. This principle is applied in legislative, judicial and administrative practices. However, there are some problems with employment in the regions with a mixed ethnic population. These problems are not connected in any way with discrimination against persons belonging to ethnic groups, but rather with the fact that inadequate education and professional training of a great part of that population and the great number of registered unemployed Bulgarian citizens limit their opportunities of finding suitable jobs in conditions of competition and higher demands of the labour market in the transition towards a market economy. In order to cope with this situation the Ministry of Labour and Social Care has been pursuing a selective action-oriented policy the aim of which is to assist the disadvantaged groups of the unemployed on the one hand, and the employers on the other, with regard to the labour market.
26. The methodology employed by the National Statistical Institute in the Republic of Bulgaria does not distinguish by race, colour and religion the structure of professional training and qualification, employment and crafts. As far as the employment of women is concerned, they account for 49.3 per cent of the economically active population. Women also account for 55.6 per cent of employed university graduates, 50.5 per cent of secondary vocational graduates, 52.1 per cent of high school graduates, and 47.1 per cent of those having only primary and junior high school. By May 1993 they accounted for 87.4 per cent of the office employees, 60.6 per cent of the specialists, 59.6 per cent of trade and sales assistants, 51.6 per cent of those with semi-skilled training, and 51.3 per cent of unskilled labour. / "The labour market and reforms in Bulgarian industry", an international conference held in Sofia, 18-20 May 1993./
27. Below are statistics concerning professional qualifications:
total/women
159
348
391
980
35 871
39 910
39 916
32 711
42 784
53 637
44 435
47 037
7 085
21 118
21 044
18 696
53 816
73 755
89 464
115 542
28. Bulgarian legislation sets out some requirements for certain posts/positions and for practicing certain professions which are not deemed as constituting discrimination in the meaning of ILO Convention No. 111. In such cases, however, no distinctions, exceptions or preferences of any kind, based on race, colour, religion or national origin are allowed. This is also the case with respect to the prohibition on women being employed in certain types of labour (art. 307 of the Labour Code), including jobs involving hard physical labour and those detrimental to the health of women. An exhaustive list of such jobs was published by the Council of Ministers with Ordinance No. 7 of 1993, on detrimental and physically heavy jobs prohibited for women (State Gazette No. 58 of 1993). In such cases the prohibition is meant to protect the life and health of women, and does not constitute an exception because of sex. This understanding was accepted and confirmed in Bulgaria following the ILO practice (Convention No. 45 on underground jobs for women of 1935).
29. Bulgarian labour legislation does not allow holding more than one full-time job at a time, since this would interfere with the minimum uninterrupted daily rest (art. 113 in conjunction with art. 153 of the Labour Code).
30. In 1984 the Republic of Bulgaria submitted its previous report on article 6 of the Covenant in connection with the right to work (E/1984/7/Add.18). Since then, and particularly since 1989, serious changes have taken place in the public, economic and legal spheres in Bulgaria which have had a definite impact on the legislation governing the right to work. Generally, these changes are confined to the legal regulation of social relations in the period of transition from a centralized planned economy towards a free-market one.
31. The juridical basis of the right to work in the new conditions is the provision of article 48 of the Constitution of 1991. Unlike the previous Constitution of 1971 which guaranteed that right while establishing the obligation for all able-bodied Bulgarian citizens to work, the present Constitution stipulates that it is the obligation of the State to assist citizens in exercising their right to work and to choose their occupation and the place and nature of their work (art. 48). This is being implemented both through economic measures and juridical regulation of employment relations, based on the provision of article 16 of the Constitution which provides for the State to guarantee and protect labour by law.
32. The basic law regulating the exercise of the right to work is the Labour Code of 1986 (State Gazette Nos. 26 and 27 of 1986, amendments in No. 6 of 1988, Nos. 21, 30 and 94 of 1990, Nos. 27, 32 and 104 of 1991, Nos. 23, 26 and 88 of 1992). It was radically amended in 1992 (State Gazette No. 100 of 1992). The basic idea of the Labour Code, as recognized in article 1, paragraph 2 is "to guarantee the freedom and protection of labour, as well as just and dignified conditions of labour". This idea is translated into practice in cases where the parties concerned discuss the creation or termination of jobs as well as the working conditions on the basis of minimum standards set out in the Labour Code. An important element in the legislation has been the introduction of judicial defence of the labour rights of citizens.
33. A number of normative acts of the Council of Ministers regulate relations in the labour market and establish the basic means through which the State assists in the exercise of the right to work in conditions of unemployment, such as by registering in employment offices those actively seeking jobs, informing about job vacancies and about opportunities for professional training and retraining, advising and directing candidates to vacancies, etc. Those acts include Decree No. 57 of the Council of Ministers of 1989 on redirecting and effective use of laid-off manpower and Decree No. 110 of the Council of Ministers of 1991 on resolving the immediate problems of employment and unemployment.
34. New guarantees for the exercise of the right to work have been created by means of restoring collective bargaining as a second-level regulation of labour relations (normative act - collective labour contract - agreement between the parties on individual employment relations), which establishes more favourable conditions of work and employment relations for workers and office employees than those defined in the normative acts of the State (arts. 50-59 of the Labour Code).
35. The Republic of Bulgaria has constantly received assistance from the ILO (in recent years particularly from the ILO team for Central and Eastern Europe), as well as from other international institutions, in preparing and implementing practical measures for the exercise of the right to work. Some of the more important examples of such assistance are as follows:
(a) ILO memorandum on the draft amendments to the Labour Code of 1992;
(b) Seminar on international labour norms, the freedom of association and the prohibition of discrimination in the field of labour and professions, held jointly with the ILO in September 1992;
(c) Conference on the the labour market and reforms in Bulgarian industry, organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Care and ILO, May 1993;
(d) Survey on unemployment and the restructuring of 500 Bulgarian enterprises;
(e) Survey carried out jointly with the team for Central and Eastern Europe on collective bargaining in 700 Bulgarian enterprises.
Of particular use has proved to be the initiative for active partnership of the ILO Administrative Council carried out by the ILO team for Central and Eastern Europe.
36. Of particular importance has also been the role of international and foreign technical assistance in creating and regulating labour market relations in the new conditions in the Republic of Bulgaria. Such assistance has been accorded by ILO (e.g. preparing technical cooperation projects and procedures for their evaluation; an international fellowship workshop on promoting active policies on the labour market; "Approaches in Finding
Employment for the Disabled in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe"; etc.); by the European Union within the framework of the PHARE program (e.g. creating an information system in the national employment agency, evaluation of the thoroughness and quality of computer equipment supplied under the PHARE program, etc.); by the World Bank (elaboration of a strategy for the labour market until 1991 and for the professional qualification of the elderly). Of specific importance has also been the assistance and cooperation of Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States of America, France and other developed countries.
37. Both the consultative and technical assistance by the ILO and its specialized organs must be assessed very highly.
Article 7
38. The Republic of Bulgaria is a party to the following ILO Conventions:
No. 14 Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921;
No. 81 Labour Inspection Convention, 1947;
No. 100 Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951;
No. 106 Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices), 1957.
The Republic of Bulgaria submits periodic reports to the ILO Committee of Experts on the ratified conventions. The latest one was in connection with Convention No. 81 submitted following a direct inquiry under article 22 of the ILO Constitution, covering the period until 1993. No significant changes have occurred since the submission of those reports.
39. The Republic of Bulgaria is switching over to contractual agreements to determine wages and salaries in conformity with article 66 and article 107 of the Labour Code of 1986, and Decree No. 129 of the Council of Ministers of 1991 on contracting wages and salaries (State Gazette No. 55 of 1991). The ILO conventions have been made use of in this respect.
40. In concluding wage and salary agreements all questions related to pay which have not been settled imperatively by law, such as the amount, the dynamics and the organization of wages, can be subject to negotiation. The basic indicators which determine wages are:
(a) Quantity, quality and effectiveness of work;
(b) Working conditions;
(c) Availability of means for wage increases;
(d) Economic considerations, such as demands for economic development, labour productivity and the desired level of employment.
41. Wages and salaries are fixed at three levels:
(a) National, which determines the minimum wage and some additional remuneration;
(b) Collective bargaining;
(c) Individual agreements between the parties in individual employment relations.
42. The right to a minimum wage is a fundamental constitutional right of workers and employees (art. 48, para. 5, of the Constitution). The minimum wage is fixed by the Council of Ministers (art. 244, para. 1, of the Labour Code). The Council of Ministers fixes the minimum wage having discussed it in tripartite cooperation with workers' and employees' trade unions and with the employers (art. 3 of the Labour Code). The minimum wage covers all workers and employees under labour contract. In December 1993 they were 2,124,800 workers in the public sector, while in December 1994 the number stood at 1,965,500. The minimum wage is determined for the lowest skilled labour in full-time normal working conditions.
43. Since the minimum wage is guaranteed by the Constitution (art. 48, para. 5) and by the minimum wage system provided in the Labour Code (art. 244, para. 1), the minimum wage system has the force of law. The fundamental rights of the citizens as recognized by the Constitution are irrevocable (art. 57, para. 1). This means that the fundamental right to minimum wage cannot be revoked, limited, restricted, etc. other than through an amendment to the Constitution itself.
44. The minimum wage is periodically adjusted through decrees of the Council of Ministers. The basic guarantee for its payment is contained in article 245, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code, which reads as follows: "A worker or an employee is guaranteed, provided they duly and faithfully implement their labour obligations, the payment of a monthly remuneration to the amount of the minimum monthly wage valid for the whole of the country".
45. In determining the minimum wage, due account is taken of the needs of the workers and employees and their families, the cost of living and its dynamics, the economic development of the country, the level of labour productivity and the maintenance of an adequate level of employment. All these are the subject of negotiations in the tripartite partnership between the State, trade unions and employers' representative associations. This procedure was introduced for the first time in an amendment to the Labour Code in 1992, and is provided for in its article 3. Specifically the tripartite cooperation defines the following:
(a) Ways and means, principles and procedures for fixing the minimum wage valid for the whole country, as well as the reasons, conditions and manner in which it is adjusted;
(b) The minimum hourly and monthly wages for the whole country and the recommended coefficient to differentiate starting wages according to the level of education;
(c) Types and minimum amounts of additional remuneration where this is not specifically provided for in the Labour Code;
(d) Ways of determining the sources for wages, various positions and coefficients for determining starting wages in enterprises being run from the State budget;
(e) Principles, ways and means, and terms for regulating sources of wages.
46. In addition, the minimum wage is subject to adjustments in different production branches. The fixed minimum wage valid for the whole country is the focal point in the negotiations on determining wages in the different production branches. The social partners here are entitled to negotiate a higher minimum wage for a particular production branch, taking into account the specific economic opportunities, economic demands, and the balance of forces of the social partners. This makes it possible to agree on a more just differentiation of wages for different branches, since the minimum wage determined on an average basis for the whole country does not necessarily comply with the specific working conditions and requirements of all production branches.
47. The last level of collective bargaining on the minimum wage takes place in the enterprise itself. There the employer and the representative trade union organization (arts. 50-59 of the Labour Code) are the parties empowered to negotiate. They determine the minimum hours, daily or monthly wage for the enterprise, and also the following:
(a) Starting wages, differentiated according to the categories of the personnel, positions, needed level of education or training, as well as the reasons and ways and means for their adjustment;
(b) Ways and means of evaluating jobs with a view to determining the wage;
(c) Ways and means of assessing labour efficiency and of consequently determining wages;
(d) Determining the types and amounts of additional remuneration;
(e) Pay increases depending on inflation and other economic factors;
(f) Mechanisms for distributing the sources for wages among various structural units in the enterprise;
(g) Defining the system to be taken into account in determining the wage in accordance with the particular working conditions in the various branches.
48. A basic requirement in determining the wages of workers and employees at each of the lower levels of contract bargaining is that only such conditions as favour the workers and employees may be put forward (art. 50; art. 66, para. 2, of the Labour Code).
49. The mechanism for determining, supervising and adjusting the minimum wage is dependent on the general mechanism of the income policy. The basic principles of this policy are a regulated formation and increase of the sources of wages in State-run and municipal factories and companies, for example a three-monthly regulation of wage sources in State-run and municipal factories and companies a three-monthly adjustment of wage sources in the budgetary sphere, and a minimum wage and other protected remuneration kept in accordance with the rate of inflation.
50. Wage fluctuations, average annual incomes and average annual expenditures per capita of households in Bulgaria are as follows (in leva):
a/ Per capita in the public sector.
b/ Per monitored household.
51. Minimum and actual incomes of the population and nominal and actual wages are as follows (by index):
52. The system of the minimum wage is observed effectively by the mechanism mentioned in paragraph 48 above.
53. As was already pointed out, the Constitution (art. 6, para. 2) and the Labour Code (art. 8, para. 3) explicitly recognize the equality of all citizens before the law, particularly the equality between men and women, including in respect of wages and other working conditions. Further reference can be obtained in the report of the Council of Ministers, dated July 1993 and addressed to the ILO Committee of Experts, regarding Convention No. 100 on the equal pay of men and women for equal work.
54. As far as wages in different production branches are concerned, here are the figures:
3 084
4 125
10 778
24 888
45 511
63 093
55. Objective professional development on the basis of work done is guaranteed through the freedom to negotiate working conditions under the labour legislation, the payment of additional remuneration in cases of higher qualifications, etc.
56. The breakdown of annual incomes per capita of the population in the Republic of Bulgaria is as follows:
(in millions of leva)
1 844.9
3 274.1
4 808.9
18 974.0
4 678.5
5 711.4
19 034.0
329 190.3
57. As to the respective structure of the State sector and the private sector, this is not currently monitored by the National Statistical Institute.
58. Article 48, paragraph 5, of the Constitution recognizes the right of workers and employees to healthy and safe working conditions: "Workers and employees shall be entitled to healthy and safe working conditions ...". This right is also recognized in article 124 of the Labour Code which reads as follows: "In their employment relation workers and employees shall perform their job which has been the subject of their contract, and shall obey labour discipline, whereas the employer shall ensure workers and employees such conditions in which they can perform their jobs, and shall pay them wages for the work done". The minimum standards in the exercise of this right are stated in chapter XIII, entitled "Safety and healthy working conditions", in the Labour Code as well as in other laws and normative acts of the Council of Ministers and the respective ministries. They apply to all workers and employees in employment relations. More favourable conditions than those established in the legislation can be agreed upon by means of the collective labour contract and also by individual agreements between the parties in employment relations.
59. The minimum standards regarding safety and healthy working conditions are imperative. They are part and parcel of the legal contents of the individual employment relationships. The obligation of the employer to create such conditions is not only an individual legal obligation with respect to workers and employees in individual employment relations, but also a legal obligation towards the State, and he/she shall be liable under the administrative and penal procedures.
60. The minimum standards regarding safety and healthy working conditions are applied in all factories and companies and enterprises, including those of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior.
61. No category of workers and employees is excluded from the purview of the minimum standards regarding safety and healthy working conditions.
62. Labour accidents and occupational diseases in recent years are as follows:
Source: National Health Information Centre.
63. As has been repeatedly stated, the Constitution (arts. 6 and 48) and the Labour Code (art. 8) guarantee the equality of all workers and employees. This principle is also applicable with respect to the equal protection which covers all categories of worker and employee. Special protection covering certain socially disadvantaged groups (youth, women and persons with disabilities) is also available and is aimed at achieving equality in practice for these categories of worker and employee.
64. There are no workers or employees in the Republic of Bulgaria who are outside the scope of the action of the principle of equal treatment. As was stated earlier, there is special labour protection of certain categories of workers and employees in order to guarantee their genuine equality in the labour process. In this respect women avail themselves of all the rights recognized for workers and employees in general. At the same time there are additional rights and higher requirements which are meant to take into account the physiological differences of the female body and the status of women as mothers, wives and housewives. There are two categories in this respect:
(a) Labour in general for all women, which includes:
(i) Prohibiting jobs which are physically hard and hazardous to women's, particularly mothers', health (art. 307 of the Labour Code);
(ii) Equipping and maintaining rest-rooms for women's personal hygiene (art. 308 of the Labour Code);
(iii) Establishing different minimum norms for physical activity for women and for men;
(b) Labour for mothers (workers and employees):
(i) Equipping and maintaining rest-rooms for pregnant women workers and employees (art. 308 of the Labour Code);
(ii) Ensuring suitable jobs for pregnant women (workers and employees) and for breastfeeding mothers (workers and employees) whose regular jobs are unsuitable for their condition (art. 309 of the Labour Code);
(iii) Prohibiting business travel for pregnant women (workers and employees) and for mothers (workers and employees) of children up to three years of age, without their explicit consent (art. 310 of the Labour Code);
(iv) Pregnancy and maternity leaves (arts. 163-168 of the Labour Code);
(v) Providing the possibility of working at home while maintaining the validity of the employment contracts of mothers (workers and employees) with children of up to six years of age (art. 312 of the Labour Code);
(vi) Special protection for pregnant women (workers and employees) and mothers (workers and employees) with children up to three years of age against dismissal (art. 333, para. 1, item 1, of the Labour Code).
In addition there is special protection against dismissal of women (workers and employees) whose husbands have been drafted into the military services (art. 333, para. 1, item 1, of the Labour Code).
65. Article 306, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code (1986) established certain priorities while maintaining other equal conditions for women taking certain jobs which were particularly suitable for them. Practice showed, however, that the article was used rather sparingly. In addition it was found that the provision introduced certain inequalities based on "sex". Therefore, the provision was repealed by the Law Amending the Labour Code of 1992, paragraph 195 (State Gazette No. 100 of 1992).
66. Rules on working time, rest, leaves and holidays are set out in chapter VII and chapter VIII of the Labour Code. Unlike the Labour Code of 1951 and its later version of 1986, followed by the amendments in 1992, the existing Labour Code sets out the rules on working time, rest and leaves only as minimum standards. Better conditions for workers and employees can be agreed upon in the collective labour contracts and through the individual agreements between the contracting parties.
67. Amendments to the Labour Code of 1992 provide for the normal working day to be 8 hours in a 40-hour five-day working week. Under-aged workers and employees, and those working in hazardous and dangerous conditions, night shifts and on days immediately preceding weekends and holidays in a six-day working week, work reduced time without pay reduction. The amendments also provide for half-time and flexible working hours. Factories and companies are entitled to fix their own working hours.
68. Overtime work is forbidden as a matter of principle (art. 143, para. 2, of the Labour Code). It is allowed only in certain cases, explicitly set out in the Labour Code (art. 144), with increased pay (arts. 150 and 263). The maximum allowed working time per year is 150 hours.
69. The Labour Code provides for a half-hour break during the workday (art. 151, para. 1), a 12-hour minimum and uninterrupted rest between workdays (art. 152), and a 48-hour minimum and uninterrupted weekend rest (art. 153, para. 1).
70. Official holidays in the Republic of Bulgaria are:
1 January, New Year's Day;
3 March, Bulgaria's Liberation from the Ottoman Yoke, National Holiday;
1 May, Labour Day and International Workers' Solidarity Day;
24 May, Day of Bulgarian Education, Enlightenment and Culture, and of the Slavic Alphabet;
1 November, Commemoration Day of the Leaders of Bulgaria's National Revival;
24-26 December, Christmas;
Easter, two days (Sunday and Monday) in accordance with the Eastern Orthodox Christian calendar.
71. Workers and employees are entitled to paid annual leave provided that they have at least eight months of service (art. 155, para. 1, of the Labour Code). The duration of the paid annual leave depends on the length of service: 14 workdays for up to 10 years of service; 16 workdays for 10-15 years and 18 workdays for service of more than 15 years. A minimum of five workdays is added to the paid annual leave in jobs with hazardous and dangerous conditions, and for non-fixed workdays (art. 156 of the Labour Code). While on paid annual leave, workers and employees receive their wages before taxes (art. 177 of the Labour Code). Unused paid annual leave are prohibited from being compensated through payment, except in cases where employment relationships have been terminated (art. 178 of the Labour Code). Workers and employees cannot be dismissed while on leave without advance permission from the Labour Inspectorate (art. 333, para. 1, item 4, of the Labour Code).
72. In addition to paid annual leave the Labour Code also provides for other kinds of leave for workers and employees:
(a) Paid and unpaid leave for reasons of personal, civic and public obligations, such as getting married, burials, etc. (art. 157 of the Labour Code);
(b) Paid and unpaid leave in cases where workers and employees have been drafted for regular military service or for short-term military call-ups (art. 134 of the Law of Military Service; art. 158 of the Labour Code);
(c) Paid and unpaid leave for trade union activities (art. 159; art. 161, para. 2, of the Labour Code);
(d) Unpaid annual leave (art. 160 of the Labour Code);
(e) Official leave and sabbaticals (art. 161 of the Labour Code);
(f) Temporary disability leave (art. 162 of the Labour Code);
(g) Paid and unpaid pregnancy and maternity leave (arts. 163-168 of the Labour Code);
(h) Leave for exams and other educational purposes (arts. 169-171 of the Labour Code);
(i) Leave to celebrate religious holidays of religions other than the Eastern Orthodox Church (art. 173, paras. 2-3, of the Labour Code).
73. The rights of workers and employees with regard to working hours, rest, leave, weekends and holidays are strictly observed with control being exercised by the Labour Inspectorate.
74. There are no workers and employees in Bulgaria who are outside the scope of the rules with regard to working hours, rest, leave and weekends and holidays.
75. The last report of Bulgaria with regard to the right to just and dignified labour conditions was submitted to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 1984. Since then important socio-economic and political changes have occurred in the country. A new constitution was adopted in 1991, and the Labour Code was significantly amended. The latter explicitly proclaimed the right to just and dignified labour conditions as an objective of the labour legislation (art. 1, para. 2). The legislation also recognized all gains obtained by workers and employees, and reaffirmed them as minimum standards with the possibility for workers and employees to obtain even more favourable ones above the minimum standard level. All the labour rights of citizens can be defended in court.
76. As stated above, Bulgaria has been receiving assistance from ILO on a constant basis in the preparation of its legal system and the realization of the right to work. Particularly useful were the consulting services rendered by ILO through its memorandum with regard to the amendments to the Labour Code of 1992. Technical assistance has not been rendered.
77. The Republic of Bulgaria is a party to:
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
The latest report of the Republic of Bulgaria on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was submitted in 1993. No significant changes have occurred since then.
78. The right to free professional association is proclaimed by the Constitution in article 12 and article 49, paragraph 1, and is set out in detail in article 4 and articles 33-49 of the Labour Code.
79. The Constitution of Bulgaria proclaims the freedom of citizens to form associations in general (art. 12) and to form trade union organizations and alliances in particular (art. 49, para. 1). The only limitation to trade unions and other associations of citizens is the requirement not to pursue any political objectives and to abstain from engaging in any political activities, since the latter are the domain of political parties (art. 12, para. 2). The Law on Political Parties defines the activities which are the exclusive domain of political parties (State Gazette No. 29 of 1990 and amendments in No. 87 of 1990). If a trade union conducts any political activity the Prosecutor-General of the Republic shall warn it to re-register as a political party; if this is not done the Prosecutor-General shall demand that its activity be discontinued.
80. Workers and employees shall be free to form trade union organizations and alliances (art. 49, para. 1, of the Constitution). The Labour Code stipulates in article 4, paragraph 1, the following: "Workers and employees shall be entitled without any advance permission to freely form by their own choice trade unions, to join and leave them on their own volition with the only condition that they observe their statutes". Therefore, establishing, joining and leaving any trade union is entirely within the purview of the free choice of every worker and/or employee. Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code also explicitly emphasizes that this can be done without any prior permission. In accordance with article 33, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code "Trade unions ... shall, within the law itself, draft themselves their own statutes and rules and regulations for work, shall freely choose their own organs and representatives, shall organize their governing bodies and shall accept programmes for their activities". In order to create a trade union the following requirements are needed: workers and employees must have expressed their wish to create such a trade union; a statute and a programme for the trade union must be adopted; a governing body must be elected; the trade union must be registered in court in compliance with the rules about non-profit associations (art. 49 of the Labour Code).
81. Once a trade union and its branches are duly registered in court, they become a legal entity. In registering a trade union in the court of the district where it is headquartered, the court will verify only whether the statute, the programme and the governing body have been prepared and elected in accordance with the objectives of the trade union, as required by law. These objectives are set out in article 4, paragraph 2, of the Labour Code, which deals with the representation and protection of "the interests of workers and employees before State organs and employers relevant to issues of labour and social security and living standards through collective bargaining, participation in the tripartite cooperation, the right to organize strikes and take other action under the law". Registration in court constitutes only a notification, not a licence. The court shall not assess whether there is any need to create such a trade union, its suitability, etc.
82. Joining a trade union requires only the free personal will of a worker or an employee, addressed to the respective body under the trade union's statute. Admission to membership is subject to internal rules and regulations. The same applies in cases where a worker and/or an employee freely chooses to discontinue membership in the trade union.
83. There are no special rules dealing with the creation of trade unions with the exception of those involving the personnel of the armed forces and the Ministry of Defence, which shall be set out below.
84. As stated above, there are no restrictions in Bulgaria's legislation and administrative practice with regard to the right of workers and employees to create and to join trade unions.
85. There are no legislative or other restrictions in Bulgaria on the right of trade unions to form federations and to join international trade unions. All depends entirely on the internal rules and regulations of the respective trade unions and their desire to do so.
86. As stated above, the freedom to form trade union organizations and alliances is explicitly proclaimed in article 49, paragraph 1, of the Constitution. This freedom includes not only the right to form and join trade unions, but also their free activities. Article 12 of the Constitution regulates the free activities of citizens' associations, such as trade unions. These associations are meant only to satisfy the interests of their own members. The only restriction is not to engage in any political activities (art. 12, para. 2, of the Constitution).
87. The freedom and independence of trade unions is also proclaimed in article 33, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code, as quoted above.
88. The legal guarantees stated above apply to all trade union organizations, which resort to them in accordance with their possibilities (financial, membership, etc.).
89. Collective bargaining is regulated in chapter IV of the Labour Code. It is given broad scope because the Labour Code provisions establish only minimum standards for protection of the work of workers and employees, whereas collective bargaining and concluding collective labour contracts can settle all questions related to labour and social security relations which are not subject to the operative provisions of the law (art. 50 of the Labour Code). There are three requirements in the Labour Code which set the boundaries of the freedom to contract:
(a) The object of regulation. This includes labour and social security relations of workers and employees (art. 50, para. 1, of the Labour Code);
(b) Labour legislation provisions. A collective labour contract shall not include clauses counteracting the imperative provisions of the law (art. 50, para. 1, of the Labour Code);
(c) Contents of collective labour contracts. A collective labour contract shall not contain clauses which are less favourable for workers and employees than those established by the law (art. 50, para. 2, of the Labour Code). Such clauses shall be null and void.
90. An employer shall not refuse to conduct labour negotiations. There are two important obligations for any employer in this regard established by the law:
(a) To negotiate with a representative trade union for the conclusion of a collective labour contract (art. 52, para. 1, item 1, of the Labour Code);
(b) To provide trade unions with information pertaining to:
(i) Concluded collective contracts binding the parties by branch, territorial or organizational affiliation (art. 52, para. 1, item 2, e, (a) of the Labour Code);
(ii) The employer's economic status which is important for the conclusion of the labour contract (art. 52, para. 1, item 2, e, (b) of the Labour Code).
An employer shall pay compensation for damages incurred if he/she fails in the above obligations.
91. Membership of the largest trade unions in Bulgaria:
a/ The difference in the membership of the Independent Trade Unions Confederation in Bulgaria is the result of different statistics: the first number has been obtained on the basis of figures provided by different federations about their territorial structures. The difference in the "Podkrepa" Labour Confederation is due to the fact that when the Government recognized it as representative it also recognized it as having 70,000 members. The figures given about the other three trade unions represent the assessment of the Independent Trade Unions Confederation in Bulgaria.
92. The Bulgarian Constitution of 1991 explicitly provides the right to strike, a provision proclaimed for the first time in Bulgarian legislation. It is proclaimed as a basic and irrevocable right of workers and employees in article 50 of the Constitution which reads as follows: "Workers and employees shall have the right to strike in defence of their collective economic and social interests. This right shall be exercised in accordance with conditions and procedures established by a law". The conditions and procedures for exercising the right to strike are established by the Law on Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes (State Gazette, No. 21 of 1990, amendments in No. 27 of 1991). Some of the most important guarantees in the exercise of the right to strike are: voluntary participation in strikes; prohibition of
lockouts; presumption of the legality of strikes until they are proven otherwise by a court of law; administrative-penal responsibility for anyone violating the provisions of the right to strike; recognizing the period of participation in a legal strike as time of service.
93. The exercise of the right to strike shall be allowed in all cases with the exception of those specifically prescribed by law. These restrictions are contained in article 16 of the Law on Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes of 1990, which reads as follows:
"Strikes shall not be allowed in the following cases:
7. Whereby political demands are being raised."
The above limitations as a matter of principle are generally observed in practice. There are, however, certain violations which unfortunately are not always penalized. There are often strikes demanding the resignation of administrative personnel in factories and companies (directors, managers, etc.). There were such cases in 1992 and 1993, and they were all declared illegal by the courts. A number of strikes were held in the summer of 1991 by health services personnel in the towns of Kazanlak, Silistra, Tutrakan, etc. There was a general strike on 17-20 May 1994 with the participation of what was announced to be 402 local trade unions in the health services. Those strikes were not sanctioned, and neither were the strikes in support of political demands in 1990, 1991, 1992.
94. As stated above, article 16 of the Law on Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes, in particular items 4-6 conforming to article 8, paragraph 2, of the Covenant, limits the right to strike of certain categories of worker and employee. For this reason they can resort to voluntary means of resolving collective labour disputes, such as direct and immediate negotiations, negotiations through intermediaries, voluntary labour arbitration, means of public pressure. These limitations are being observed in practice, with the exception of cases related to strikes in the health services (see above).
95. No information can be provided about the number of persons whose right to strike is limited because the National Statistical Institute does not collect such data. However, below is some pertinent information:
(a) The right to strike is prohibited with respect to 98,930 persons in the system of the Ministry of Defence; / According to figures provided by the Ministry of Defence./
(b) The right to strike is prohibited with respect to 45,196 persons employed in the communications system in 1994.
96. The energy production sector falls under the category of "industry". Health services go together with social security, gymnastics, sport and tourism. The judiciary falls under the category of "other non-material branches of production". This is the reason why no exact information can be provided.
97. There are special procedures for establishing trade unions in the armed forces and the police. They are based on possibilities provided for in article 8, paragraph 2, of the Covenant dealing with restrictions on the right to form trade unions in the armed forces, the police and the administration of the State.
98. In accordance with article 82, paragraphs 1-3, of the Law on the Ministry of the Interior (State Gazette No. 57 of 1991), officers and sergeants within the system of the Ministry of the Interior shall not form trade unions other than those specifically established by the Ministry itself. At present there are the following trade unions within the system of the Ministry of the Interior: Independent Trade Unions Federation of the Ministry of the Interior, National Police Trade Union, Trade Union of Non-Commissioned Personnel of the Ministry of the Interior. There are about 10,000 members of the various trade unions of the Ministry of the Interior.
99. The current armed forces legislation (the Law on General Military Service of 1957) does not restrict the right of military personnel to form trade unions. The bill on the organization of the armed forces, currently under discussion in the National Assembly (Parliament), provides that armed forces servicemen are to be prohibited from becoming members of the general trade union organizations of workers and employees. They are to be allowed to organize on a professional basis in time of peace and for the realization of activities outside the scope of their official duties. This regulation as well as the regulation prohibiting the right to strike within the system of the Ministry of Defence concerns 98,390 persons. Presently, the professional organization of the servicemen in the Bulgarian army is the "Rakovsky" Bulgarian Officers' League.
100. Current legislation does not provide for any restrictions on the right to form trade unions and the right to strike of civil servants.
101. Existing restrictions on the right to form trade unions in the armed forces and the police, as well as restrictions on the right of military and police personnel to strike are strictly applied in practice.
102. The last report of Bulgaria on the exercise of the rights under article 8 of the Covenant was submitted to the Economic and Social Council in 1984 (E/1984/7/Add.18). Since then there have been important changes in the economic and social spheres in Bulgaria. They also concern the rights, proclaimed in article 8. The basic changes involve the following:
(a) Establishing the principle of pluralism in forming trade unions and employer' associations, as a result of which many such trade unions and associations have been created;
(b) Freeing trade unions from certain uncharacteristic functions such as getting involved in the management of enterprises, control over observance of labour legislation, etc. while entitling them to represent worker and employee interests in the field of labour and social security relations;
(c) Specific recognition of the right to strike in the Constitution and legal provision thereof in the Law on Settlement of Collective Labour Disputes.
103. Bulgaria is not a party to the ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) or the subsequent Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121); the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention, 1967 (No. 128); the Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130); the Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168).
104. Listed below are the branches of social security existing in Bulgaria:
Medical care;
Cash sickness benefits;
Maternity benefits;
Old-age pensions;
Invalidity pensions;
Survivors' pensions;
Employment injury benefits and pensions;
Unemployment compensations and benefits;
Family benefits.
105. Social security in the Republic of Bulgaria can be grouped in three categories, described in the following paragraphs.
106. Short-term social security includes temporary disability and maternity benefits. The compulsory short-term payments cover:
(a) Workers and employees having employment contracts;
(b) Trainees during the period of apprenticeship and persons performing short-term services are covered only for employment-related injuries;
(c) Lawyers; persons on civil contracts who receive payment which exceeds one quarter of the minimum monthly wage or the minimum annual salary.
107. The costs of social security are covered by the employer or the person authorizing the civil contract, whereas lawyers bear all the cost for their social security. Businessmen, traders and dealers and private farmers (see below) may pay their own social security if they so desire.
108. Short-term social security provides for compensation for temporary disability owing to illness or employment-related injury, quarantine, removal from job on doctor's advice, compulsory maternity check-ups, nursing a sick family member, maternity (pregnancy, delivery, and infant care), parents of minors eligible for family benefits, lost wages in cases where persons
with reduced work capacity have been relegated to lower-paying jobs, and orthopaedic aids. Short-term social security also covers free medical care in State medical institutions. The sizes of the compensations are as follows:
(a) 90 per cent of the wage in cases of employment-related injury or illness;
(b) 70 to 90 per cent of the wage in cases of general illness, quarantine, removal from job on doctor's advice, etc., depending on the length of service, age and length of temporary disability;
(c) 100 per cent of the gross wage during pregnancy and childbirth;
(d) The minimum nationwide wage for infant care;
(e) State-fixed family benefits depending on the number of children.
109. Long-term social security covers payments in proven cases of invalidity or presumed (old-age) disability, as well as in cases of loss of survivor's benefits because of death of the benefit recipient (survivor's pensions). Compulsory long-term insurance covers all the categories under the short-term insurance, as well as persons under article 1, paragraph 1, of the Regulation on social security of persons practising freelance professions or involved in trading, or without labour contracts (State Gazette No. 58 of 1992, amendments in Nos. 5 and 85 of 1993), such as businessmen owning a single company, traders, private farmers, members of cooperative unions, land-lease holders, persons employed without labour contracts in private health establishments, persons with freelance professions, persons performing services on the basis of subsequent legal registration, the spouse and the ascending kin of the employer and/or his/her spouse who are working in his/her company. These
persons are entitled to retirement pensions, invalidity pensions and survivor's pensions under the prevailing conditions. The respective social security charges are borne by them. Long-term social security pays retirement pensions and old-age pensions, invalidity pensions, survivor's pensions, civil invalidity pensions, military invalidity pensions and social pensions. Their amount is a percentage of the gross wage or fixed by the State, as is the case for social pensions. In the cases of retirement pensions and invalidity pensions, there is an additional allowance for each year of service over and above the minimum number of years required for retirement pensions; there is also an additional allowance for each year worked passed the minimum age for retirement. All pensions are, as a matter of principle, periodically adjusted in accordance with the rate of inflation in the country.
110. Unemployment social security covers unemployment compensation and benefits in cases where workers and employees have been forced out of their jobs. Unemployment social security for workers and employees is compulsory in cases where the employer has terminated the labour contract or when the contract has expired, and for young specialists and skilled workers who have been unable to secure jobs immediately after completing their education and professional training, or who have been mustered out of the military service. Unemployment compensation is paid:
(a) To persons who have lost their jobs because of labour contract termination. In such cases the compensation amounts to 60 per cent of the lost wage and no less than 90 per cent and no more than 140 per cent of the minimum wage. Unemployment compensation in such cases is paid for a period of 6 to 12 months depending on the length of service, age and sex;
(b) To young specialists and skilled workers in an amount of 80 per cent of the minimum wage, for a period of six months for young specialists and three months for young skilled workers;
(c) To persons who have lost their jobs because of labour contract termination, who have been engaged for half-time jobs with wages below the minimum wage. The amount of the unemployment benefit in such cases represents the difference between the obligatory unemployment compensation on the one hand, and the wage on the other hand. The amount is paid for the period for which unemployment compensation is due;
(d) To the long-term unemployed. This category includes persons registered as being unemployed for more than 12 months. They are entitled to unemployment benefits in an amount of 60 per cent of the minimum wage for a period of six months.
111. In addition to these categories there are other additional unemployment benefits given under certain conditions, such as monthly allowances for children, family benefits, benefits for enrolling in orientation and labour motivation courses, as well as for successful completion of professional qualification and retraining courses for the unemployed, organized by the labour offices. When unemployed persons entitled to monetary unemployment benefits take on half-time and lower-paid jobs during the period in which they are receiving unemployment benefits, the benefits are reduced by 50 per cent.
112. In winter, when heating is a priority, the unemployed are entitled to an additional benefit of 140 leva per month as compensation for increased electricity and heating bills.
113. The social security funds for the unemployed are raised by dues paid by employers who are outside the scope of the State budget, as well as by the State budget itself. Social security benefits for the period 1985-1994 were as follows:
freelance professions
114. The average annual amount of a pension was 1,401 leva in 1989, 8,040 in 1992 and 20,547 in 1994.
115. Social security expenditures in the State budget and as a percentage of GNP for the last 10 years are as follows:
The higher expenditures are the result of a rise in inflation on the one
hand, and widening of the scope of persons covered by social security who until 1989 included only workers, employees, cooperative farmers, lawyers and freelancers, on the other hand.
116. State social security is still predominant in Bulgaria. Private social security is not yet regulated by law and has no practical significance. A number of private social security funds have been set up, but they have no normative basis and are not popular with the people. The creation of a normative basis for the development of private social security while maintaining the predominance of State social security is one of the objectives of the comprehensive social security legislation which is now being drafted in Bulgaria.
117. The Government has proposed that social security funds be separated from the State budget and placed under tripartite management. A bill on social security funds has been discussed by the social partners and subsequently submitted to Parliament. Similar principles also underlie the Professional Training and Unemployment Fund and the Medicare Fund.
118. No part of Bulgaria's population is excluded from the social security system, with the exception of persons enrolled in regular educational courses or those not working at all, either under labour contracts or independently. However, they are entitled to social security benefits in certain cases provided by the law. Women are entitled to the same rights of social security as men.
119. The last report of Bulgaria on the right to social security was submitted to the Economic and Social Council in 1984 (E/1984/7/Add.18). Since then important economic and political changes have occurred in the country which have had a great impact on the right to social security. Some of those changes are as follows:
(a) Widening the scope of persons entitled to social security. This was done by means of the Regulation with regard to persons with freelance professions, or engaged in trade, or those on temporary contracts;
(b) Introducing periodic adjustment of retirement benefits and pensions depending on the rate of inflation. This was put into effect by the law on amending the Pensions Law of 1992 (State Gazette No. 52 of 1992);
(c) Empowering the Regional Social Security Commissions to deal
with social security disputes. This was done by amending the rules for implementing chapter III of the Labour Code of 1951 (State Gazette No. 59 of 1989) and the rules for implementing the Pensions Law of 1989 (State Gazette No. 59 of 1989).
120. International assistance in the legal and administrative implementation of the right to social security in Bulgaria is very useful under the new conditions of transition towards a market economy. Such assistance has been rendered mainly for the preparation of the White Book on Social Security in Bulgaria with the help of, among others, ILO, the Council of Europe, the Group of 24, UNDP, and the Governments of Belgium, Germany, Denmark and the United States, as well as assistance in conducting certain actuarial calculations. A project to train social security experts in the Social Security Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Care has also been prepared. A seminar on social security problems, organized jointly by Bulgaria, the World Bank and the United States Department of Labour in 1993, was also very helpful.
Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 6);
Medical Examination of Young Persons (Sea) Convention, 1921 (No. 16);
122. Bulgaria periodically submits its reports on the implementation of the above-mentioned conventions to the ILO Committee of Experts. The latest one on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was submitted in 1993. A consolidated (second and third) periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was submitted in 1994. Bulgaria's initial report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/8/Add.29) was submitted in 1995. The present report contains only new information about legislative and administrative practice in the period following the submission of the above-mentioned reports.
123. In Bulgarian legislation the term "family" denotes spouses having contracted a civil marriage and their minor unmarried children.
124. Bulgarian citizens come of full legal age at 18, in accordance with article 2 of the Law on Persons and Families (State Gazette No. 182 of 1949). This is the general full legal age for all citizens at which they become fully responsible for their acts and assume the rights and duties under the Constitution and legislation.
125. There are exceptional cases where this age-limit is lower. At the age of 16 persons may be employed under labour contracts, manage themselves their remuneration, and may on their own participate in the discussion of labour disputes (art. 301 of the Labour Code in conjunction with art. 4, para. 2, of the Law on Persons and Families and art. 16, para. 3, of the Civil Procedure Code). In exceptional cases persons are allowed to marry at the age of 16 if there are important reasons for concluding the marriage and provided the president of the district court gives permission (art. 12 of the Family Code). In entering into marriage the under-age spouse assumes full legal status under the law, but may dispose of real estate only with the permission of the district court.
126. The ways and means of helping and protecting the family are described in the report of Bulgaria on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (submitted in 1994), and the initial report of the Republic of Bulgaria on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. These ways and means are based on article 14 of the Bulgarian Constitution, which states that: "The family, motherhood and childhood shall enjoy the protection of the State and society". In addition, they are included in article 47 of the Constitution which reads as follows:
127. A man and a woman shall be free to enter into marriage, and this right is recognized and guaranteed by the Constitution and the Family Code. Under article 46, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, "Matrimony shall be a free union between a man and a woman." Under article 7 of the Family Code, "A marriage is concluded as a result of the mutual consent between a man and a woman given in person and simultaneously before an authorized civil marriages official."
128. A marriage concluded against the will of one of the spouses shall be null and void under article 96, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Family Code which reads in part: