On May 1, we celebrate International Labor Day. On this occasion, the "Podkrepa" Labor Union held a festive procession in the center of the capital. The start was given at exactly 11 a.m. on the "Sveta Nedelya" square and ended in front of the "Earth and People" museum next to the National Palace of Culture, where the "Rock for Labor" concert took place, with the participation of performers such as Milena, Vasko Krypkata, "Poduene Blues Band", Kotseto Kalki, and the "Atlas" group.
The children from the "Pambos" dance studio also joined the festive procession and the Brass Band of the First English High School.
The event of the Trade Union "Podkrepa" was under the motto "Do not touch the regulation of electricity for households". The union insists on a clear mechanism for determining electricity prices for household consumers. The Bulgarian is not ready for the liberalization of the electricity market, said the vice president of the Trade Union "Podkrepa" Eng. Ioannis Partheniotis:
"In Bulgaria, according to statistics, we have 2 million energy poor - approximately 30% of Bulgarians. The price of electricity is deliberately loaded with additional fees and this liberalization should be postponed as long as possible in time until we, as incomes, reach the average incomes of Europeans".
The president of the Trade Union "Podkrepa" Dimitar Manolov insisted on rethinking the definition of energy poverty:
"This time, for which this postponement will be made, must be used intensively, because we must answer the question of who is energy poor, because I am firmly convinced that this is not only the one who cannot pay his electricity bills. Energy poor is also the one who cannot replace his blower with an air conditioner, who cannot renovate his home, who cannot reduce his energy consumption because he cannot replace it with some more efficient ways of satisfying his needs".
Dimitar Manolov declared himself against increasing the retirement age.
The warning was issued due to the discussion about changes in the pension system:
"Forget about increasing the retirement age! You will not do it, you will not be allowed, at least because at the moment in Bulgaria there is still a process of increasing the retirement age. Making this process endless is stupid! Bulgarians already live less, we live worse", reports BNR.
However, the "Podkrepa" coalition would support a possible increase in social security contributions, it became clear from the words of Manolov, who defined this as a "partial restoration of social security levels" and insisted that the measures be comprehensive:
"Twenty years ago, the social security system was deprived of 1/4 of its own revenues, which led to today's deficits. Yes, social security contributions should certainly be partially restored to their previous levels. Here we will have to talk in detail about when workers will start paying higher social security contributions, how their incomes will be compensated so that they do not suffer from this".