Joint efforts to solve problems in determining the minimum wage

Tripartite seminar with international participation on "Fixing and adjusting the minimum wage in Bulgaria"

MLSP joyintly with ILO (headquarters in Geneva and the Office in Budapest) and CHRDRI initiated and organized a tripartite seminar with international participation that was launched today, May 19. The main topic of the event is "Fixing and adjusting the minimum wage in Bulgaria."

Management and expert staff of MLSP, representatives of the social partners and academia, as well as non-governmental organizations involved in the issue of income take part as representatives of Bulgaria.

Welcome speeches were made by Mr. Veselin Indzhev, Director of "Strategic planning and demographic policy" Directorate of MLSP and Ms. Sofia Amaral de Oliveira, technical specialist on conditions of work and employment in the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe of the International Labour Office (ILO), Budapest.
The main topics that will be emphasized in the three working sessions are: "Trends in Wages and Inequality Across the Globe" (a global ILO report, current trends in wages, and incomes in Bulgaria); "Institutional Aspects of Minimum Wage Setting" (minimum wage in relation to international labor standards, selected aspects of law and practice, legislation and practices concerning the minimum wage in Bulgaria); "Operational aspects of minimum wage setting" (international examples, Europe, Bulgaria).

During the two days will be identified and discussed many issues related to the mechanisms for setting the minimum wage, will be shared international experiences and practices, and summarized the defined criteria and relevant legal framework for setting and adjusting of wages. There will be discussions among social partners and participants for differentiating and defining their positions in the process of work.

The objectives of this seminar are to outline a more complete picture and assessment of the current situation on the issues of minimum wages in the country and to be shown the setting practices at European and global level. Furthermore, another objective is to be provided a range of data and mechanisms used worldwide to fix and adjust the minimum wage.

According to Ms. de Oliveira, as a result of the two-day meeting, the work of the institutions should be increasingly geared towards creating conditions for security, freedom, and human dignity, since labor income is a base for these and also in direct relation to the economic health of each country.

The seminar will end on Wednesday, May 20, with development of a specific task, summary of results, and assessment of the working sessions.