Late May 2004 saw the conclusion of a new collective agreement for the Bulgarian metalworking sector. As well as increasing minimum pay rates, the deal covers matters such as paid annual leave, lay-offs and health and safety.
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Late May 2004 saw the conclusion of a new collective agreement for the Bulgarian metalworking sector. As well as increasing minimum pay rates, the deal covers matters such as paid annual leave, lay-offs and health and safety.
On 28 May 2004, the social partners in the metalworking and production of metal products industry signed a new sectoral collective agreement. The trade union signatories were the Trade Union Federation Metalitzy affiliated to Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the National Metallurgy Federation affiliated to the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa (CL Podkrepa), while the agreement was signed on the employers' side by the ferrous and non-ferrous metals branch federation of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) (BG0307204F). The deal is one of the first sector/branch-level collective agreements to be signed in 2004, and is seen as a major success for autonomous bipartite social dialogue, which has not developed as much as expected in spite of changes made to the Labour Code in 2001 to promote such dialogue (BG0312203F).
The new collective agreement is effective from 1 May 2004 for a two-year term. The previous collective agreement has been signed on 12 April 2002 and also ran for two years. The negotiations over the new accord lasted more than a year (running from 4 March 2004 to 14 May 2004). The talks were delayed due to tensions that arose from a serious accident in January 2004 at Kremikovtzi, Bulgaria's largest iron and steel plant, in which three workers died and more than 20 were injured (BG0402202F). Overall, however, commentators reported that the negotiations were conducted with mutual understanding, and consensus was easily found on most of the issues. The points of disagreement were mainly wages and the length of paid leave.
The collective agreement covers approximately 20,000 people working in 30 companies in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy and the production of metal products. Workers in these companies who are not trade union members may join the collective agreement in accordance with Article 57.2 of the Labour Code, after paying a fee.
The key stated aim of the new agreement is the establishment and maintenance of social peace based on mutual consideration and harmonisation of the interests of the workers/union members on one side and the employers on the other. The agreement thereby aims at achieving prosperity for enterprises in the sector and avoiding labour and social conflicts and controversies. The main provisions are as follows:
the minimum wage rate is set at BGN 180 (EUR 90) per month. This compares with the national minimum wage of BGN 120 and the minimum rate of up to BGN 150 set by the previous metalworking collective agreement;
the pay supplement for work in harmful working conditions has been doubled, while the minimum supplement for night work is set at BGN 0.35 (EUR 0.17) per hour;
the minimum basic paid annual leave for workers (who are members of the trade union organisations party to the collective agreement) with at least 15 years' service in the same enterprise is set at 21 working days - one day more than that provided in the Labour Code but one day less than stipulated in the previous sectoral collective agreement. A female worker with two or more children is entitled to two additional days of paid annual leave;
enterprise-level lay trade union representatives must be given at least 64 hours per calendar year to perform their duties, up from 52 hours in the previous collective agreement;
workers who are trade union members may not be laid off in the event of shortages or reductions of work without prior confirmation by the leadership of the relevant trade union organisation. In the even of such lay-offs, the employer will pay extra compensation of BGN 180 (EUR 90) in addition to the compensation provided for by the Labour Code;
on termination of an employment relationship because of the employee's sickness, the employer must pay an employee with 10 or more years service in the same enterprise three months' gross pay instead of the two months stipulated in the Labour Code;
the employer must provide at its own expense preventive medical examinations, emergency first aid, free work clothes, appropriate personal protective equipment etc;
female workers should be provided with a room for hygiene purposes, and the employer is obliged to provide appropriate physiological work, rest and relaxation regimes for female workers; and
in the event of the death of a worker caused by a work-related accident, the employer must pay the worker's heirs a minimum of BGN 900 (EUR 450).
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2004), New metalworking agreement signed, article.
