06.01.2023
THE INTERREG VI-A ROMANIA BULGARIA PROGRAMME WAS APPROVED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The Interreg VI-A Romania Bulgaria Programme was approved by the European Commission on the 30th of November 2022.
The Interreg VI-A Romania-Bulgaria with a total budget of 207,45 million euros, is dedicated to the local communities from seven counties located in the Southern part of Romania (Mehedinți, Dolj, Olt, Teleorman, Giurgiu, Călărași and Constanţa) and eight districts in the Northern part of Bulgaria (Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Veliko Tarnovo, Pleven, Ruse, Dobrich and Silistra).
The Programme aims to finance projects in the field of mobility and connectivity, nature protection and biodiversity, risk prevention and climate change adaptation, education, tourism and culture.
Also, one of our main goals is to develop the Eurovelo Route 6, which will help to boost tourist and cultural activities, strengthening the local economy and providing a sustainable transport corridor between Danube settlements.
For more information regarding the programme, click here.
06.01.2023
THE BASIC INTEREST RATE IN OUR COUNTRY IS ALREADY 1.42%
The Bulgarian National Bank has announced, as of January 1, 2023, the basic interest rate (simple annual interest) in the amount of 1.42%.
This is the fourth promotion in a row. In December, the interest rate reached 1.30%. In November, the main interest rate was 0.59 percent, and in October - 0.49 percent. Then, for the first time since 2016, the basic interest rate went above zero.
The increase in basic interest rate in Bulgaria comes against the background of increased interest rates by the European Central Bank.
05.01.2023
HOW MUCH BGN IS THE MINIMUM INSURANCE THRESHOLD FOR FARMERS AND SELF-INSURERS?
The minimum insurance income for self-insured persons and farmers remains BGN 710 per month, but the insurance of the employees employed by them must necessarily be on a minimum salary of BGN 780.
The discrepancy comes from the fact that the so-called "extending law" left the minimum insurance threshold at BGN 710, the same as the minimum wage in 2022.
At the same time, from the beginning of 2023, by decree of the Council of Ministers, the minimum wage is now BGN 780.
05.01.2023
11 DISTRICTS IN OUR COUNTRY ARE "DONORS" OF WORKERS FOR FOREIGN COUNTRIES
More than 5 percent of the population of 11 districts in the country (Vidin, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Kardjali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Razgrad, Sliven, Smolyan, Targovishte, Haskovo) has gone abroad in the last 10 years.
These areas are the biggest "donors" of labor for foreign countries, mainly from the European Union, the General Labor Inspectorate informs on its website.
The preferred countries of employment in the last five years are mainly EU countries. The leaders are Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium, Austria, France and the Czech Republic.
The main reason why Bulgarians look for work abroad is the pay. Nearly 96 percent of labor emigrants expect higher salaries than those in our country and hope to accumulate savings that will help them in the future. The data show that this motivation does not depend on education, financial situation and place of residence.
People of all ages work abroad - from 18 to 55. However, active Bulgarians over 30 years of age predominate, according to data from the Labor Inspectorate. From the point of view of gender, men predominate in the ratio of 53% to 47%, but the share of women gradually increases with increasing age, and in the age group 46 - 55 years they already dominate.
According to the research, in recent years, the share of people who go abroad has shown a downward trend. Some of the reasons for this are the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus and the recession in Europe as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The study carried out by General Labor Inspectorate is within the framework of the cross-border project "Cooperation for decent work", financed by the Fund for bilateral relations under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014 - 2021.
The Agency is a project partner, and the entire study is available on its official website, in the "Activity" section, "Projects" section, "Project DFPO-1.002-0002-C01 "Collaboration for decent working conditions" subsection https://gli.government.bg/bg/taxonomy/term/508 It was published as part of Objective No. 6 of the project "Conducting national sociological surveys on issues related to undeclared work and work abroad".
05.01.2023
FREE VIGNETTES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE EXPIRING
In the first three months of 2023, the validity of 135,614 electronic vignettes issued through the Social Assistance Agency to people with reduced working capacity expires. The total number of free vignettes provided to people with disabilities as of December 20, 2022 is 214,525. They are for over BGN 20 million and are at the expense of the budget of the Road Infrastructure Agency.
The most free vignettes expire in January – 80,638. In February – 34,512, and in March – 20,464 vignettes. The validity period of e-vignettes can be checked on the Road Infrastructure Agency website www.api.bg and www.bgtoll.bg. The direct link for checking is https://check.bgtoll.bg.
People with a 50 percent or more than 50 percent reduced ability to work, as well as families raising children with permanent disabilities, are entitled to a free one-year e-vignette. The right is for one car with an engine power of up to 160 hp. and engine capacity up to 2000 cc. It is recommended that applications for the renewal of free vignettes be submitted when their expiry date approaches. They are submitted to the "Social Assistance" Directorate at the current address - in person, by letter or electronically with an electronic signature. The social services process the documents within 7 days. The Social Assistance Agency sends the processed requests daily to the Road Infrastructure Agency, which issues the e-vignette within the next working day.
Upon transfer of ownership, the free e-vignette does not follow the vehicle. In these cases, the right holder must notify the Road Infrastructure Agency within three working days in order to receive a new free vignette from the Social Assistance Agency. Transfer of ownership refers to the purchase and sale of a vehicle or the scrapping of a car and transfer to a licensed dismantling company with a contract. When the vehicle is scrapped and left for storage on private property, the person is not entitled to be issued a new free electronic vignette until the original validity expires.
In case of difficulties and the need for consultation, those who wish to be issued a free e-vignette through the Social Assistance Agency can contact the customer service center of the National Toll Office at tel.: 0700 10 876 or at e-mail: info@bgtoll.bg.
04.01.2023
AM I ENTITLED TO A FREE VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE WORK?
According to Art. 8 of the Ordinance, the employer should organize the work of persons working with video displays in a way that ensures periodic interruptions of work with video displays, which are used for:
In addition to the specified measures, the employer also provides an eye examination and assessment of the vision status of persons working with video displays by an eye specialist: before starting work with video displays; once every three years for persons under 40 years of age and annually for persons over 40 years of age, as well as for complaints of vision disturbances that may be due to work with video displays. In cases where during these examinations the need for means of vision correction is established when working with video displays, they are also provided at the expense of the employer.
The main requirements that employers and employees must comply with when working with video displays are defined by Ordinance No. 7 of 15.08.2005 on the minimum requirements for ensuring healthy and safe working conditions when working with video displays. According to the regulation, the employer is obliged to carry out a risk assessment of workplaces with video displays to determine possible risks to the health and safety of workers, especially in terms of vision, the musculoskeletal system, the occurrence of mental stress, etc.
According to the risk assessment, the employer is obliged to take the necessary measures to reduce the risks, as well as to provide employees with training and information about these measures and the requirements for the specific equipment, the work environment, the software products used and the possible risks.
The purpose of the cited measures is to ensure working conditions in which all occupational risks are eliminated or reduced, with a view to preserving the health and working capacity of the worker under conditions of full employment and during his entire working experience.
04.01.2023
BENEFITS FOR 670,000 PEOPLE WITH PERMANENT DISABILITIES ARE BEING INCREASED
Monthly financial support for 670,000 people with permanent disabilities will increase by 22% from January 1, 2023. The increase is the result of the increase in the poverty line from BGN 413 to BGN 504 from the same date.
According to the Law on People with Disabilities, the specific amount of assistance is a percentage of its value and is determined depending on the degree of disability, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy recalls.
Thus, people with over 90% disability, with certain foreign assistance, who receive a social disability pension, from next year will receive BGN 287.28 per month - BGN 52 more than at the moment.
For people with over 90% degree of disability, with certain foreign aid, who receive a disability pension due to a general illness or due to an occupational accident or occupational disease - the monthly financial support will increase by nearly BGN 30 and will reach BGN 151.20.
People with over 90% disability will receive BGN 126 each.
People with a 71 to 90% degree of disability will receive BGN 75.60 per month, and those with a degree of disability between 50 and 70.99% will receive BGN 35.28.
Monthly financial support is paid by the Social Assistance Agency under the Law on People with Disabilities.
The new higher amount of benefits for the month of January 2023 will be paid in February. In January, however, people will receive monthly financial support for December 2022, which will be in its current amount.
Before Christmas, the Parliament passed the second reading of changes to the Social Assistance Act. The amendments provide that social benefits will be determined based on the amount of the poverty line for the relevant year, determined by a decree of the Council of Ministers. So far, social benefits have been determined on the basis of a guaranteed minimum income.
03.01.2023
THE MINIMUM WAGE BECOMES BGN 780 FROM JANUARY 1, 2023
The minimum wage becomes BGN 780 from January 1, 2023, the government decided. Its size increased by 9.9% compared to its previous value, and the increase on an annual basis is 20%. This was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Policy Lazar Lazarov.
When determining the new amount of the minimum wage, the real parameters of the macroeconomic environment and the possibilities of the state budget were taken into account. "This will contribute to reducing poverty among working people and inequalities in the distribution of income," said Deputy Prime Minister Lazarov.
The growth of the minimum wage will increase the purchasing power and consumption of the lowest income groups of the labor market, increase the motivation of the workforce and reduce unfair competition. "This increase will also support those working in social services and personal assistants under the personal assistance mechanism, whose salaries are determined by a factor corresponding to the amount of the minimum wage," the minister emphasized.
With the adoption of the new amount of remuneration, conditions are created for the preparation of a mechanism for determining the minimum wage. "Its development will begin at the beginning of 2023, when, together with the social partners, we will also start work on the creation of prerequisites for the implementation of the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages," explained Deputy Prime Minister Lazarov.
03.01.2023
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE EU CAN APPLY TO IMPLEMENT THE ALMA INITIATIVE
Public and private organizations and institutions with headquarters in a member state of the European Union can apply with project proposals under the call for implementation of the ALMA initiative. The invitation is implemented by the European Social Fund Agency ESFA within the framework of the Initiative for Social Innovation at the EU level. Applicants must be in the role of a "sending organisation" for young people under the ALMA (Aim-Learn-Master-Achieve) initiative. Projects should target young people from the NEET group who are neither working nor in education or training.
The main objective of the call is to support the Member States in the implementation of the ALMA initiative in the programs funded by the European Social Fund +. Under the ALMA initiative, opportunities are provided to disadvantaged young people to do internships and gain experience with an employer in another EU member state, and on their return to be supported to find a job.
Eligible project activities will be implemented in two phases - preparation and implementation. In the preparatory phase, it is permissible to build partnerships, including transnational ones, for the implementation of ALMA activities. In the second phase, organizations can carry out selection and training of participants, as well as mobility of young people in another EU member state for a period of up to 6 months. Young NEETs can count on counseling and career guidance after returning to their home country. In the framework of the second phase, a report on the lessons learned from the implementation of the activities can be prepared, and the experience gained can be disseminated at the national level.
The budget of the invitation is EUR 15 million. Grant funding for one project is from 300,000 to 650,000 euros, and the amount cannot exceed 80% of the total project budget. The application deadline is March 15, 2023. Project proposals are submitted online only through the eSINNIS (Social Innovation Information System) portal.
Details of the invitation and application documents can be found HERE.
03.01.2023
HOW WILL SOCIAL BENEFITS RISE FROM THIS YEAR
From June 1, 2023, more people will enter the social assistance system, and the amounts of monthly benefits will also increase. They will now be calculated as 25 percent of the poverty line, and in 2024 as 30 percent of the threshold, which is updated annually.
For decades, the Guaranteed Minimum Income, which will remain in history, has been used as a basis for access and for determining the amounts of benefits. What are the changes in the Social Assistance Act adopted a few days ago by the National Assembly?
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy calculates that in 2024 over 115 thousand people will receive monthly benefits, now they are 63 thousand, and in addition, because of the commitment to the poverty line, which this year is already 504 BGN, they are also increasing disbursed funds.
"If in 2022 a person over 65 lives alone and the limit for access was BGN 115.50, then after June 1, 2023, this limit will be BGN 176.40, correspondingly, this will be the amount of the monthly allowance if the person has no income.
Another example - if a person with a permanently reduced ability to work - 70 and over 70 percent of the access limit in 2022, the amount was BGN 103.50, then after the law comes into force the access limit will already be BGN 157.50 and the amount of aid received accordingly. So, if we compare BGN 103 to BGN 157, we will see this significant increase, and in 2024 the benefits will be even higher in view of the increased poverty line for this year and the correspondingly increased percentage to the poverty line no more a little less than 30%," explained Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy Nadiya Klisurska to BNR.
The adoption of the changes in the law on social assistance was imperative both because it is stipulated as conditions under the second tranche that our country will request under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan and because Bulgaria received regular criticism that it does not have adequate support tools. By June, the changes in the by-laws will also be adopted, easier access and gentler restrictions are foreseen for people temporarily deprived of benefits.
