Trade Union Monitors 114 Enterprises, 86 Hit by Crisis

Eighty-six of the 114 medium and large enterprises that have over a total of 46,245 employees have been hit by the crisis so far. The data comes from a survey of the regional structures of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) related to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, the trade union said Tuesday.

The analysis shows that large enterprises and budget organisations with developed trade union structures, with just a few exceptions, haven't laid off staff. This is mainly due to the constant social dialogue and the opportunities agreed in the collective labour contracts, showing their advantages in difficult situations like the present one, too.

Layoffs have been found in 13 per cent of the companies. The workers in 78 per cent of the enterprises are on paid leave and in 26 per cent - on unpaid leave.

Besides catering and hotelier businesses, the largest number of enterprises that have been affected are water companies, the light industry, auto production, mainly domestic transport and the processing industry. There are also increasing problems in the public sector. Workers in Kazanluk, Blagoevgrad, Dobrich, Stara Zagora, Dimitrovgrad, Vratsa, Sliven, Gabrovo, Razlog, Bansko, followed by Bourgas, Varna and Haskovo, have suffered most.

Source: BTA