Unions have appealed to the Bulgarian government to reinstate workers who were sacked while striking over unpaid wages.

Workers at Titan AS Ltd in Vidin, went on strike on 5 March because they had not been paid for eight months. The company works for the town council, dealing with its waste management and urban sanitation.

The company agreed to pay the wages due for July 2014 to February 2015 at a meeting between the workers’ strike committee and representatives of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB/CITUB), representatives of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions from State Government Organisations (FITUSGO), Vidin’s Deputy Mayor Borislav Borisov, and Titan AS Director Valeri Yordanov.

However, the workers were not given their jobs back and gathered on 12 March outside Vidin town hall to protest against the inaction of Vidin Mayor Dobromir Dilov. KNSB/CITUB has asked the General Labour Inspectorate (GLI) to investigate and reinstate the workers. The union added that sacking workers who are on strike is tantamount to a ‘lockout’ and against Bulgarian law.

The National Institute for Conciliation and Arbitration (NIPA)  held a meeting, at the request of the strike committee, to talk with the company about ensuring adequate public utility services and protecting the environment from irreparable damage. However, the Commission failed to get the workers and the company to agree. The Arbitration Commission therefore decided to oblige both parties to provide a minimum service until the wider dispute was settled (in Bulgarian, 176 KB PDF).

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