European Trade Union Confederation

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria organised a protest for higher incomes of workers. The union has announced they will not support the budget because they want higher salaries in a number of sectors. The leadership of the Podkrepa Labor Code has refused to participate in the protest.

The European Trade Unions Confederation, ETUC, in its September statement marking the World Day of Decent Work, has condemned the Serbian railway carriage manufacturer Gosa for not paying its workers their wages, breaking the collective contract and refusing to negotiate with unions.

Equalization of wages in Eastern and Western Europe will be one of the topics to be discussed by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentin, who is on a visit to Bulgaria on 2nd of October, reported the Bulgarian National Television. 

President Emmanuel Macron's government has begun its drive to overhaul France's rigid labour laws, vowing to "free up the energy of the workforce".

The reforms aim to make it easier for bosses to hire and fire.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said they were ambitious, balanced and fair but it was natural that not everyone would support the changes.

During the last 17 years, 906 thousand Bulgarians in active age have left the country permanently; The situation is catastrophic, said the President of  the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) Plamen Dimitrov, according to bTV.

In his words, the crisis can only be tackled with urgent measures to increase people incomes.

Head of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, Plamen Dimitrov, has said that 70% of workers in Bulgaria receive below the average salary, BNR reported.

Thousands of people have marked May 1 International Workers' Day in Turkey, with police detaining dozens of protesters during the events.

The official demonstrations in Istanbul were held in the Bakırköy district after the authorities banned celebrations from being held in Taksim Square. 

The police presence was heavy across the city, with helicopters buzzing overhead.

Salaries in Greece have shrunk at an annual average of 3.1 percent since 2009, according to a survey conducted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

A study of the European Trade Union Institute and the European Trade Union Confederation has found out that Bulgaria, Poland and Germany are the only countries in the EU where the average rate of actual wage rise during the period 2009-2016 was higher than that marked during 2001-2008, quoted by BNR.

Turkey's leading business organizations have strongly condemned and expressed sorrow over a deadly terror attack in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri early on Dec. 17, which left at least 14 soldiers killed and 56 people wounded.