Ivan Petrov

After 13 years of waiting, Bulgaria and Romania are to partially join the Europe's vast Schengen area of free movement on Sunday, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks.

But land border controls will remain in place due to Austria's opposition to the eastern European countries becoming full members of the Schengen zone for fear of an influx of asylum seekers.

The trade union of the prison guards in Bulgaria is ready to announce a general strike of its members, its leader Ivan Petrov told the bTV national channel. 

“We are seeking solutions to the problems of those working in the prisons and are preparing a petition for changing the work shifts from 24-hour to 12-hour,” Petrov said.