Shortly before the start of the conference, for which GERB party activists from across the country were convened in the capital on Wednesday, the government decided to allocate hundreds of BGN millions to increase the salaries of civil servants.
The decision to increase the salaries of the officials was taken only days after they received their bonuses for the second quarter of this year. According to a source of “Pro Veritas”, however, the bonuses distributed only in the structures of the Ministry of Social Affairs were two to three times higher than the staff salaries of officials.
At the end of July, the National Revenue Agency and the National Social Security Institute received bonuses beyond the usual ones. How much exactly, “Pro Veritas” asked under the Law on Access to Public Information in the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) and the Ministry of Finance. From the financial ministry they asked for extension of the deadline for response due to the large amount of information they had to process, the deadline for response from the MLSP is running at this time.
From press-release issued by the government press service on Wednesday, it becomes clear that BGN 212 million will go to increase salaries in four ministries and their structures – the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Interior. For other ministries, the additional resource to increases their budgets is not indicated, but only that changes are made to provide funds for a 30% increase in the salaries of their employees.
It’s all because of the pandemic
Civil servants will receive higher salaries because “they are in charge of pandemic management and mastering as well as of the consequences of Covid-19”, in addition they are “at the forefront” and their duties “include service and control on the field, with direct contact with other persons” (quotes are from the press release of the Council of Ministers). Somewhere, the need for higher motivation of those “directly related to the consequences of the epidemic crisis” is emphasized.
Due to the obvious urgent need to be better motivated, the employees of the Customs Agency and the National Revenue Agency will receive as from August 1, 2020 with 30% higher salaries, for which BGN 22.4 million were transferred to the Ministry of Finance to provide the cost, which includes the insurances at the expense of the employer.
Additional BGN 5.1 million is allocated for employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and its regional structures.
A separate decree approved additional BGN 15 million from the budget of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The argument for this is the same as in other ministries, only the style has been changed very slightly. The money for Denitsa Sacheva’s subordinates is “to increase the salaries of employees who are on the front lines in the fight against the pandemic.” Another BGN 122 million will be transferred to the Ministry of Social Affairs, which will be directed to the municipalities to cover the costs of remuneration under the programs for personal and social assistant.
Overtime work in the Ministry of Interior as well – because of Covid-19, or because of the protests?
Additional BGN 29 million have been approved for the payment of overtime work to the employees of the Ministry of Interior, “directly involved in the fight against Covid-19”. Given the strong police presence at the protests, which already last 29 days, it is logical to ask whether the involvement of police in the fight against the coronavirus or the protection of protesters has accumulated more overtime work hours.
In two Directorates of the Ministry of Tourism, whose employees work “in the field”, salaries are also raised, but the titles of the directorates are not announced.
Employees in the General Directorate “Inspectorate for Preservation of Cultural Heritage” of the Ministry of Culture will also have higher salaries. This time the cause is not in the coronavirus, but it is not specified exactly why their salaries are rising.
Compensation for the risk during work
Due to their load for “mastering the spread of coronavirus”, higher salaries as from August 1, 2020 are allocated in the State Agency for Metrology and Technical Supervision, the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets, the Commission for Consumer Protection and the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology. In addition to being “on the front line against Covid-19”, the officials in these institutions “receive low wages as of this moment that do not compensate the risk to their health at work,” the arguments of the government read.
The staff of the Executive Agency “Automotive Administration”, State National Construction Control, Executive Agency for Environment, Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water and Basin Directorates with the Ministry of Environment and Water are also among those in charge of mastering the pandemic, which is why they will be provided with higher salaries.
BGN 10.5 million have been set aside for the employees in the administrations with the Minister of Health. Another BGN 9.6 million will be provided to municipal and state hospitals, in whose infectious wards coronavirus-infected people are treated.
Actions for mastering
Meanwhile, a draft decree supplementing the Ordinance on determining salaries in the state administration has been published in the Public Consultation Portal of the Council of Ministers. This draft decree provides for a 30% increase in the cost for salaries for administrations tasked with mastering the pandemic and the consequences of Covid-19, including for front-line staff whose duties include service and control “in the field” with direct contact with other persons. The draft decree lists 28 administrations in which, according to the report with the proposal submitted, “basic salaries of employees are lower than in other institutions, in dissonance with the scope of their responsibilities and the direct risk for their health”.
The draft was published on July 31 this year, and the deadline for its discussion is only 14 days.
According to the report on the status of the state administration for 2019, there are 142,747 civil servants in Bulgaria, all of whom have families. It is not serious to believe that everyone is at risk at work, and that they are directly involved in mastering the Covid-19 pandemic.
The fact that the government has decided exactly now to motivate, compensate and secure them, rather means that it is “buying” them for the upcoming elections. Whenever they will be.
