Bulgarian Firefighters Protest Due to Planned Layoffs

Bulgarian firefighters are to protest on Saturday due to planned layoffs and poor working conditions.

They will gather in Sofia at midday in the garden of the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church, which is near the building of the Interior Ministry, daily Dnevnik reports.

The cause of their discontent is the elimination of 292 unoccupied positions in the General Directorate Fire Safety and Protection of Population.

Last week Interior Minister Veselin Vuchkov assured trade unions that only vacant positions will be eliminated and a competition for 250 new positions will be announced.

However the firefighters claim that the planned layoffs in the general directorates of the Interior Ministry would lead to an ineffective fulfillment of their duties.

No major attendance is expected at the protest as most firefighters and rescuers are still engaged with addressing the consequences of the recent floods in the country.