Bulgaria
Key Facts
| Population | 7,564,000 |
|---|---|
| Collective Bargaining Coverage | 30% |
| Proportion of Employees in Unions | 20% |
| Principal Level of Collective Bargaining |
company |
| Workplace Representation |
union |
| Board-level Representation |
no |
| Company Board Structure |
monistic or dualistic (choice) |
Trade Union
Around 20% of Bulgaria’s employees are union members. There are two main union confederations. The larger of the two is KNSB, which emerged from the reformed official trade union movement of the communist period, while Podkrepa came out of the opposition movement. Despite this, they now work together reasonably well.
more ...Collective Bargaining
Between 30% and 35% of employees are covered by collective bargaining in Bulgaria. Bargaining takes place at both industry and company level (municipal level for municipal employees) but company level bargaining has become more important.
more ...Workplace Representation
There is no universal structure for employee representation in the workplace in Bulgaria. In many cases the local union is the key body, although the law also provides for the election of other representatives. Employees are also able to elect additional representatives for information and consultation but they can also choose to pass these rights to the existing union organisation or existing employee representatives.
more ...Board-level Representation
There is no employee participation at board level in Bulgaria, but under certain circumstances employee representatives can have a consultative role in shareholders’ meetings.
more ...European-level Representation
In most cases Bulgarian members of bodies linked to European Works Councils and the European Company are elected by a general meeting of the employees, or a meeting of employee delegates, where a general meeting is not possible. But the general meeting or meeting of delegates can choose to transfer the choice either to the union or to existing employee representatives. In the case of employee representatives on a European Company board, the legislation is less precise.
more ...Health and Safety
There is no form of representation. There are working conditions committees in undertakings with 50 or more employees and working conditions groups in undertakings with fewer than 50 workers.
more ...Financial Participation
The structure and development of employee financial participation are largely a result of the privatization process started in 1990 and its development thereafter. The most important form of employee financial participation emerged in the course of the mass privatization and the so-called “MEBO privatization” processes. Profit-sharing schemes, as another form of financial participation, do not enjoy much popularity among Bulgarian employees and are quite rare in practice. Cooperatives, traditionally very strong in Bulgaria, currently represent just 1% of all registered companies. Nonetheless, they are a major economic player in the agricultural sector, owning more than 50% of agricultural land under production.
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