In late November 2010, representatives of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation signed two national agreements, one for home-based workers and one covering telework. The agreements were initiated by an ordinance of the Council of Ministers as part of the ‘Bulgarian path 2009–2011’, the strategy intended to create greater flexibility and security in the country’s labour market. They were developed by the working group in charge of drafting anti-crisis measures.
Background
On 24 November 2010, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov, and the Minister of Labour and Social Policy, Totyu Mladenov, trade unions and employer associations signed two national agreements, one regulating homeworking and a second dealing with the organisation and implementation of telework. The agreements introduced regulations for these two flexible forms of employment, defining the rights and means of protection for people employed in these forms of atypical work.
The signing of the first agreement relates to the ratification of the 1996 International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Home Work (C177). This came into force in Bulgaria on 17 July 2010, on the initiative of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) to cover these new atypical forms of employment. It was also actively supported by the non-governmental organisation of home-based workers, by businesses interested in legalising the informal sector and by the new government seeking to combat the informal economy.
The second agreement relates to the European Framework Agreement on Teleworking adopted on 16 July 2002 by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Confederation of European Business (BUSINESSEUROPE), the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME) and the European Centre of Enterprises with Public Participation (CEEP).
Content of agreements
The agreements set out:
- definitions of what constitutes a workplace;
- necessary workplace equipment;
- procedures for joining a union;
- what is meant by homeworking and by teleworking;
- the elements to be included in employment contracts to protect the rights of people in atypical forms of employment.
Mr Mladenov said: ‘From now on the rights of the people working in atypical employment will be regulated, they will receive employment contracts, social security insurance and their working time will count towards pensions.’
The agreements will be submitted to the Legislative Council of Ministers for consideration.
Prime Minister Borisov stated: ‘We guarantee that the parliament will submit appropriate legislation to provide adequate regulations and an opportunity for both labour and capital to engage in constructive work dialogue.’
Social partner response
Plamen Dimitrov, President of CITUB, said that the new agreements would improve the labour market. However, he added that amendments to the social security legislation and new tax legislation will be needed to bring about the necessary changes in the Labour Code. He said that although there were no official statistics for home-based work or teleworking, it is estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 people are employed in these types of jobs.
The President of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG), Ognyan Donev, emphasised the dedication of larger business to work towards legalisation of all areas of the economy. Vassil Velev, Chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), explained that Bulgaria is among the first of the new EU Member States to have signed agreements to regulate home-based work and telework. The President of the Bul garian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Tzvetan Simeonov, said that these agreements are an important signal to foreign investors that Bulgaria is now economically stable. According to Evgeni Dushkov, General Secretary of the Confederation of Labour Podkrepa (CL Podkrepa), the signing of these agreements raised the tripartite dialogue to ‘a higher level’.
Commentary
The agreements were developed by the working group in charge of the adoption of anti-crisis measures with the support of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC). For the first time since Bulgaria’s transition to a free market economy, the state left the social partners to negotiate the regulation of these two issues affecting thousands of workers in the informal sector. At the same time, the government has guaranteed to implement legislation on home-based work and telework.
Violeta Zlateva, Institute for Social and Trade Union Research (ISTUR)