12.12.2022
AFTER PROTEST: ROMANIA'S PETROMIDIA REFINERY RAISES WORKERS' WAGES
Romanian company Rompetrol has accepted demands for higher wages by protesting workers at its Petromidia oil refinery.
The company agreed to a wage increase in the amount requested by the unions, effective March 1, 2023, to avoid problems with oil production and distribution of refined products in an extremely unfavorable and tense geopolitical context, Rompetrol said in a report. submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
Hundreds of workers gathered in front of the administration building at the Petromidia refinery in Navodari to protest the company's decision to postpone negotiations for a wage increase until the spring. The unions and the company's management have been negotiating the increase since September, according to Romanian media.
The workers receive an income of about 3,000 lei (610 euros), which is not enough to support their families. Unions emphasize that the work is difficult and dangerous, given the events that can occur during their work. Employees have been waiting 2 weeks for a clear answer from the administration regarding salaries.
After the protest, the employees signed an agreement with the company to increase wages by 1,500 lei (305 euros) effective March 1, and will also receive a bonus totaling 3,000 lei (610 euros) to offset heating bills during the winter months. The refinery employs about 2,000 people.
"I signed the document with the administration to increase the salary from March 1 by 1,500 lei. The protest stopped. I have passed this on to the people. They received 3,000 lei, which is compensation for invoices from December, January, February, 1,000 lei for each month," trade union leader Petre Tankau tells news.ro.
Rompetrol Rafinare is part of the Netherlands-based KazMunayGas International Group (KMGI Group), 100% owned by Kazakhstan's state oil and gas company KazMunayGas. Petromidia, owned by the company, is the largest and most modern oil refinery in Eastern Europe, located on the coast of the Black Sea, near the largest Romanian port - Constanta. The refinery is one of the main producers of petroleum products in Romania and the Black Sea region.
12.12.2022
DESPITE THE LACK OF SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT IS FALLING
The level of registered unemployment in the region fell by one-tenth, but remained twice the national average, which was 4.3 percent in October. This is shown by the analyzes of the Regional Employment Office in Montana.
The unemployment rate in the Montana region is 8.4 percent for October. It remains extremely high in Yakimovo. There, the reported figure is 33.3 percent. They are followed by Valchedrum (26.9 percent), Chiprovtsi (24.1 percent), Boychinovtsi (22.9 percent), Medkovets (20.9 percent). The level rises slightly in Georgi Damyanovo, Yakimovo, Varshets, Brusartsi, Boychinovtsi from 0.1 to 1 percent. It is unchanged in Lom. A decline was registered in the other municipalities. The level in Montana is record low. For the reporting period, the registered rate is 3 percent. This is the lowest indicator in the North-West region.
There are 5,056 people without livelihood in the Montana region. This is 28 people less than a month earlier, despite the end of seasonal employment. The largest drop is in Montana, where the unemployed have decreased by 40 persons. By between four and fourteen people, the number of people without employment in five municipalities has decreased. They increase by between one and 28 people in Georgi Damyanovo, Yakimovo, Varshets, Brusartsi and Boychinovtsi. Unemployed women predominate in all employment offices. Young people under the age of 29 are about 10 percent, except for Lom, where they occupy a share of 15.6 percent. The registered long-term unemployed for over a year are 2,206 people. For the period, they are 24 people less. The problems with this group are serious. More than two out of every three people have no major, half are over 50 years old, and 60 percent have primary or lower education.
During the month, 534 new unemployed were registered, of which 309 were women. That makes almost 58 percent of all. 261 people were released from the private sector. Almost half (46.8%) were fired from the service sector. One in five was laid off from the industrial sphere, and 6.2 percent from agriculture. Jobseekers, employed, students and pensioners have also registered on the exchange.
The unemployed who started work in October numbered 331 people. Every fourth is a youth. 16 percent are people without a livelihood for more than twelve months. Women are over 55 percent.
During the reporting period, 190 vacancies were claimed. The main part of them - 157, are in the real economy. The most advertised jobs are in the manufacturing industry (25.1%), followed by public administration (18.5%), trade, car and motorcycle repair (14%), education (11%), hotels and restaurants (7 .7%), human health care and social work (7%).
An average of nine people competed for each. The competition was greatest in Lom, where there were seventeen candidates for one position. In Berkovitsa, one place was contested by eight citizens, and in Montana by six citizens. During the month, the largest share of those who started working in the public administration sector was 18.5%, followed by those in trade 14.8%, processing industry 13.3%, construction 9.1%, human health care and social work 7.3 per hundred.
The most in-demand occupations during the month are: tailors and ironers, general laborers, assemblers, automated assembly line operators, drivers, salespeople, machine operators, teachers, waiters, kitchen workers, cooks, personal assistants, cashiers, social workers.
In the district in October, 44 people were included in training programs and sixteen in employment measures.
199 unemployed people from the risk groups were appointed to subsidized jobs during the month, 158 under employment programs and measures and 41 under schemes of the Operational Program "Development of Human Resources".
During the month, 39 employed persons were included in trainings, and 36 unemployed and employed persons completed the training started in previous months, having acquired a new profession or key competence.
09.12.2022
BULGARIA HAS THE THIRD LARGEST NUMBER OF START-UP COMPANIES IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Bulgaria has the third largest number of start-up companies among the countries of South-Eastern Europe and the second most attractive destination for offices of foreign start-ups. This is indicated by the data from the annual report of the Dutch risk capital analysis agency Dealroom "Startups & Venture Capital in South Eastern Europe 2022", presented at an event of the Bulgarian Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA).
According to the study, Bulgaria is third in the number of start-up companies after Romania and Greece and is the absolute leader in the number of venture capital funds – 18 in total, as well as being one of the leading investment hubs for the region, as local funds direct resources for growth not only to local companies, but also to promising startups in Romania, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, etc.
The analysis includes the names of a number of capital companies of Bulgarian founders, as well as the names of foreign companies that have chosen Sofia as their next office location. Among them are the first Bulgarian unicorn Payhawk, Gtmhub, Dronamics, Spark, Nexo, Hyperscience, The Recursive, Software Group, Alcatraz AI, Nuvei, Paysafe, Hopper and many more, notes the Capital Municipal Agency for Privatization and Investments (Invest Sofia).
The report also notes that VC investment in startups in the eleven countries now exceeds US$1.3 billion. This is an all-time record and more than the previous three years combined. For Bulgaria specifically, venture capital directed at homegrown companies has reached USD 251 million over the past 18 months, which is more than any previous period since 2012.
08.12.2022
A FAMILY WITH TWO CHILDREN SAVES BGN 1,200 FROM TAXES
Working parents could receive hefty sums on top of their December paychecks under the new Child Tax Credit rates.
The NRA reminds that for the income received in 2022, they reimburse through employers BGN 600 per parent of one child, BGN 1,200 for two children and BGN 1,800 for three or more children. For raising a child with disabilities, the relief is increased by another BGN 1,200 per child.
These funds are received with the December salary, if during the year the parents did not use the advance tax discount. This option was introduced in the middle of the year, but it was poorly promoted, so parents are expected to request the relief en masse in December. For this purpose, they must submit an application from December 1 to 31 to their employers. In this case, the employer can refund the tax until the end of January 2023.
The other option remains in effect - to request the relief from the NRA together with this year's income tax return, which must be submitted by the end of April 2023.
In order to benefit from the tax relief, the natural person (including a sole trader) must have received income subject to annual taxes in 2022, the NRA recalls. People who only have income such as maternity benefit or those subject to final or patent tax cannot take advantage of child tax relief. If one parent falls into this category, the other can claim the tax discount if he meets the conditions, added the NRA.
One of the most important requirements for the application of the reliefs is that the parents do not have arrears for taxes, insurances, fines for which there is a decision for enforcement. The NRA advises citizens to check their tax liability account online with a personal identification code before applying for tax relief to avoid inconvenience.
08.12.2022
NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY INSTITUTE STOPS ISSUING SANATORIUM CERTIFICATES
The territorial divisions of the National Social Security Institute will issue certificates for prevention and rehabilitation until December 20, 2022 inclusive, announced the National Social Security Institute.
The last date on which the eligible persons can enter the contractors of the prevention and rehabilitation activity is December 21, 2022.
The actions to terminate the prevention and rehabilitation program for this year are necessary, since the contracts concluded with the contractors of the prevention and rehabilitation activities are due on 31.12.2022.
This year, the program started on April 1. Currently, there are 42,145 issued certificates for the use of financial aid for prevention and rehabilitation.
07.12.2022
WHAT IS AN ADEQUATE MINIMUM WAGE
After the successful completion of the inter-institutional meetings in the summer and the final vote of approval by the European Parliament (voting in the Plenary session on 14.09.2022) and the Council of the European Union (on 04.10.2022), the final text of the Directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union. Under what conditions will the normative act be applied and to whom does it apply?
During the almost two-year period of negotiations on the Directive, started by the Commission on October 28, 2020, the two co-legislative institutions made substantial changes to the initial version of the normative act. The corrected texts generally upgrade the Commission's vision regarding the process of determining and updating the statutory minimum wages in the member states of the European Union, including Bulgaria, but are also expected to facilitate the collective bargaining process in the European countries.
The applicability of the normative document will apply to all workers and employees who have an employment contract or are in an employment relationship. Attempts to exclude certain groups (such as maritime workers) from the scope of the Directive have thus been effectively thwarted.
In the adopted Directive, the concept of "living wage" failed to establish itself as a reference value to be taken into account for assessing the purchasing power of the minimum wage. However, Member States should take "living standards" into account when setting or updating the minimum wage.
Among the other mandatory criteria that should be taken into account are the general level of wages and their distribution, the growth rate of wages, the long-term tracked national productivity levels and their development. That is why each country can define other criteria that correspond to its socio-economic context, to be formulated together with the social partners.
The pitfall that may hinder the effective enforcement of the "living wage" as a guide to the necessary funds that the minimum wage should provide is the express entry in the Directive according to which States are entitled to assign a different relative weight to each of the criteria, used to determine or update the minimum wage.
The request of trade unions across Europe to assess the adequacy of statutory minimum wages by relating them as 60% of the gross median wage and 50% of the gross average wage (covering the so-called double threshold) was achieved through a specific entry in the Directive. In this way, the ratio is recognized as an important reference for the States, despite the pressure of the Council to write it only in the recitals of the Directive. The place of the social partners should certainly be emphasized in the selection of the indicative reference values for assessing the adequacy of the statutory minimum wages.
Reference:
DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on adequate minimum wages in the European Union
07.12.2022
THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL INSTITUTE: 5% OF BULGARIANS WORK FROM HOME
The phenomenon of daily labor migration is closely related to the economic condition of settlements, their location and infrastructure, as well as the presence and characteristics of the labor force in them. This is shown by "Census 2021" data on daily labor migration, distributed by the National Statistical Institute.
The importance of this process for society is great, since participation in daily trips, in contrast to permanent resettlement, does not lead to depopulation of settlements or to disruption of the age structure of the population, reports the National Statistical Institute.
Busy
As of September 7, 2021, 121,235 people - 5.1 percent of those who answered the question in the last census - indicated that they mostly work from home.
There are 100,547 people without a fixed job, or 4.2 percent. The absolute number and relative share of people who work in the same settlement where they live is the highest - 1,661,017 (69.5 percent). 494,719 people or 20.7 percent travel to the place where they work. The employed who travel outside the country are 13,086 or 0.5 percent. This is shown by "Census 2021" data on daily labor migration, distributed by the National Statistical Institute.
Daily labor migrants account for 18.6 percent of all employed persons aged 15 and over. Of these, 262,238 people or 53 percent live in villages, and 232,481 or 47 percent live in cities, with men predominating - 56.9 percent, compared to women - 43.1 percent of all labor migrants.
Learners
As of September 7, 2021, 21,522 people, or 2.6 percent of those who answered the question, indicated that they study mostly from home. The absolute number and relative share of students in the same settlement where they live is the highest - 610,621 (75.1 percent). 176,440 people or 21.7 percent travel to the settlement where they study. Students who travel outside the country are 4,242, or 0.5 percent.
Mobile learners represent 21.7 percent of all learners. 59,621 people, or 33.8 percent, live in cities, and 116,819, or 66.2 percent, of student migrants live in villages.
06.12.2022
A LARGE COMPANY IS BUILDING A FACTORY IN ROMANIA INSTEAD OF BULGARIA, RECRUITING 700-800 WORKERS
The German company Diehl Controls, a division of the German Diehl group, will invest over 40 million euros in building a production base for electronic components in the Romanian city of Brasov, the local municipality announced. "The company aims to open the factory by 2024," reported the city hall of the Romanian city, which was competing with Bulgaria and Serbia for its new production.
The company, which specializes in the production of parts for household appliances, will build a research center and a manufacturing plant at the selected location.
Diehl's facility in Brasov will be its third in Europe, along with those in Germany and Poland. Upon completion, the factory will employ between 600 and 650 people, with another 100 to 150 jobs added for the company's research department.
According to the company's calculations, between 2023 and 2027, up to 20 million euros will be invested in the factory in Brasov, and for the period 2023-2033, the investment may reach 45 million euros.
The value of the new plant's output will grow from 35 million euros in 2024 to 100 million euros in 2025 and 160 million euros in 2027, according to Diehl's estimates.
"We chose the site in the Brasov area because it is close to the city where there is a university. The local authorities convinced us to choose Romania. We aim to start production in mid-2024. We are currently dependent on when we get the building permit, to start work, said Josef Fellner, CFO at Diehl Controls.
The research center and manufacturing unit will be built by industrial property developer CTP as part of a wider project. The new business park will have a total area of about 50,000 square meters, of which 18,000 will be leased to the German company, reports Romania Insider.
The Diehl company was founded in Germany in 1902. The company currently employs over 16,000 people, of which 3,687 work for Diehl Controls. The company is active in metalworking, electronic component manufacturing, defense, aviation and utilities. In 2021, Diehl recorded revenues of 3.1 billion euros.
05.12.2022
HOW WILL THE NEW SINGLE HEATING ASSISTANCE BE RELEASED?
The National Social Security Institute informed about the procedure by which the new one-time financial aid for heating in the amount of BGN 300, which was voted by the Council of Ministers at the end of November, will be granted.
The funds will be paid once in the period from December 12, 2022 to December 23, 2022, according to the way in which individuals receive other social payments, the department specified.
The aid of BGN 300 will be provided as follows to:
- Parents or adoptive parents raising children with permanent disabilities and receiving monthly allowances;
- Families who receive monthly allowances for a child without the right to an inheritance pension from a deceased parent;
- Families of loved ones and relatives, as well as foster families, receiving monthly social assistance for the child placed in their family;
- War veterans, war disabled and war injured, assisted by the Social Assistance Agency under the Law on War Veterans and the Law on War Disabled and War Injured;
- People with disabilities with over 90 percent degree of disability with certain foreign assistance, receiving a disability pension due to a general illness or due to an occupational accident or occupational disease, or a social disability pension, who are granted monthly financial support under the Law on People with Disabilities;
- Persons and families who suffered from fires, floods and other natural disasters in 2022, to whom one-time assistance was granted in accordance with Art. 16 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Law on Social Assistance.
In order to receive this assistance, it is not necessary to submit applications to the "Social Assistance" directorates at the current address. The funds will be disbursed ex officio on the basis of a list approved by the director of the relevant "Social Assistance" directorate, according to the National Social Security Institute.
The institute draws attention to the fact that the new heating aid will not be provided to individuals and families who for this heating season have already received targeted heating aid of BGN 623.55 or one-time financial support for heating to compensate for the increased prices of energy sources of BGN 400, as well as to individuals and families who received in 2022 one-time assistance to meet an incidental need.
This is the third measure within the framework of the government's policy towards risk groups. About 370-380 thousand people during this heating season are beneficiaries of the support provided by the state.
05.12.2022
CARING FOR THE POOR: ROMANIA STEADILY RAISES PENSIONS AND THE MINIMUM WAGE
Romania is preparing steady increases in pensions and the minimum wage to ease the lives of its citizens struggling with rising prices and the economic crisis. The authorities have prepared energy aid, food vouchers and higher social payments for the most vulnerable groups in society. This was agreed upon by the parties of the triple ruling coalition, reports the state agency Agerpres.
All pensions will be increased by 12.5%, and the pension point, according to which pensions are calculated, will reach 1,784 lei (361 euros). The minimum wage in the country will rise to 3,000 lei (607 euros) compared to the current 2,550 lei, of which 200 lei are tax-free. The increase is 17.7%, and 1.2 million Romanians are expected to benefit from it.
Supplements for pensioners
People with a pension of less than 3,000 lei will receive a financial supplement next year. It will have a different value depending on their monthly income. The supplement will be 1,000 lei (202 euros) for pensions up to 1,500 lei (304 euros), 800 lei (162 euros) for pensions up to 2,000 (405 euros) lei and 600 (121 euros) for those up to 3,000 lei (607 euros). The aid will be split into two tranches in 2023.
"In recent weeks, there was a lot of talk about percentages and numbers, but less about people's lives. For the Social Democratic Party, it was never about numbers and percentages, but about people and what they need," said the chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Marcel Cholaku.
"We considered that each category should be supported in a different way, and the support from the state should go to a greater extent to those who feel the effects of the economic crisis the most. And here I mean both the active persons - the working on the minimum wage - as well as those who have worked all their lives and yet now have small pensions," explained the leader of the largest party in the coalition.
The construction sector will continue to be stimulated, with the minimum wage in this branch increasing to 4,000 lei (810 euros) while maintaining the current tax benefits.
Help for the most vulnerable
The Romanian authorities will seriously increase social payments for the most vulnerable groups in society. People with disabilities will receive a "13th salary" - an additional benefit at the end of the year. Romanians with incomes up to 1,700 lei (344 euros) will receive food vouchers worth 250 lei (51 euros) once every two months throughout 2023.
Elderly people with the lowest pensions will receive energy assistance of 1,400 lei (283 euros), divided into two six-monthly installments, to pay their heating bills. Pensioners over the age of 60 who have pensions below 2,000 lei (405 euros) will be entitled to the assistance.
The veterans' and war widows' benefit, which has not been changed since 2018, will rise by about 30% to match the level of inflation. State child benefits will also be indexed to price increases.
95% of vulnerable families in Romania cannot cover their children's basic needs such as medical care, medicine, food and education because of the economic crisis. A large part of the large families in the country support themselves thanks to social assistance from the state, according to a study by the organization "Save the Children". The authorities must take urgent measures to ease the impact of the economic crisis on children's lives.
The planned measures were also confirmed by Prime Minister Nicolae Chuka, who is the leader of the National Liberal Party (NLP). "The period we are going through is marked by multiple crises worldwide and we need to ensure mitigation of the effects caused by high inflation. That is why the NLP strongly opposed increases of less than 15% and obtained in the negotiations total increases of more than 15.8%," Chuka pointed out.
Danger to public finances
The increases in pensions, social security payments and salaries are part of a 26.65 billion lei (5.4 billion euro) social package called "Support for Romania" proposed by the rulers.
The Balkan country collects budget revenues worth around 30% of gross domestic product, well below the EU average of around 46% of GDP, and spends most of it on public sector wages, pensions and social grants.
The government plans a budget deficit of 4.4% of GDP, down from this year's forecast of 5.7%, and the European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Romania's central bank and rating agencies have warned that the fiscal deficit and low revenue collection are major risks to the economy.
Fitch Ratings, Moody's and S&P Global Ratings place Romania in their lowest investment grade. Analysts expect economic growth to slow significantly in 2023.
