Two minimum wages, how much is the minimum pension? There are no legal reasons for such conundrums, there are political ones.
This is what Vanya Grigorova commented on.
For two weeks, debates have been going on about the unprecedented situation in which government representatives claim that until the adoption of the state budget, two different minimum wage amounts will be applied - 933 leva for employees in the state administration and 1077 leva for all other workers and employees. The minimum wage can only be one and it is 1077 leva. This is stated in the Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 359 of October 23, 2024:
Monthly minimum wage 1077 BGN.
Hourly minimum wage 6.49 BGN.
Monthly minimum wage for employees appointed to budget administrations under PMS 66 - 1077 BGN.
Minimum wage under the Regulation on the Salaries of Employees in the State Administration - 1077 BGN.
What is unclear? The last two points indicate exactly how much the minimum wage for the state administration is from January 2025. These are adopted regulatory documents. Yes, it is true that ADDITIONALLY in the law on the state budget there is a record of the amount of the minimum remuneration for the administration. But we ALREADY have adopted the minimum wage specifically for the administration in PMS 359, PMS 66 and the Ordinance on the Salaries of Civil Service Employees.
It is a lie that the government and institutions have no legal basis to pay the new higher amount of the minimum wage!
Minimum pension in the amount from January 2024 or from July 2024? 523 BGN or 580 BGN? As has been repeatedly stated, Art. 19 of the Social Security Code states that in the absence of a new budget, expenses and revenues “shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulatory acts“. The update of the pension from July is carried out under Art. 100 of the Social Security Code – a LAW, a regulatory act, so to speak. This is the so-called Swiss rule. Therefore, there is no room for doubt as to how much should be paid to pensioners. Definitely 580 lv.
Well, yes. Income will be according to the old rules - minimum social security income of 933 lv. and maximum 3750 lv. And yes - it will be even more difficult to cover the costs of social security payments, including pensions. But this does not mean that there is a problem with DETERMINING the amount of the minimum pension. It means that the policy of all governments to make curtseys to employers and wealthier citizens is giving another negative result. Because the maximum social security contributions should have been many times higher a long time ago and guaranteed higher revenues in the National Social Security Institute in order to pay pensions.
But by all accounts, it seems that these invented problems serve political purposes. The pressure on the administration and pensioners suggests that there can be no budget without a government. There can be no government if GERB, Democratic Bulgaria, BSP and ITN do not form a governing coalition.
Yes, there must be a government. Someone must bear political responsibility for the governance of the country, to make decisions on national issues. But it is not true that the lack of a budget is the reason for two MRPs and the old minimum pension. I call on the political elite not to play with the most vulnerable members of our society and to stop the budget circus they are playing.