Workers at Gradski Transport – Varna Prepare for Protest.
Workers at Gradski Transport – Varna have declared readiness for protest actions due to the lack of an agreement with management on their main demands and the unsigned new Collective Labor Agreement.
The organization says that after a series of meetings and negotiations, no agreement has been reached on the employees’ demands, leading to growing tension within the company.
Among their main demands are a200 increase in wages, higher food allowances, an increase in night work pay, improved social benefits and working conditions, and the signing of a new collective labour agreement. At general meetings, nearly 200 workers unanimously declared their readiness to begin protest action.
Aleksandar Shopov and the chair of the trade union organization, Pavlina Nikolova, informed the workers that more than 40% of the signatures required to begin effective strike action had already been collected.
According to the organization, solutions can be found through dialogue in the interest of both workers and the citizens of Varna. In this context, the Federation of Transport Trade Unions says it remains open to dialogue and is ready to meet with the mayor of Varna, with whom good social partnership and constructive communication have been built over the years.
At the same time, the FTTU says transport workers can no longer wait for the adoption of the municipal budget. According to the federation, the state budget does not provide additional funds for public urban transport in Varna, limiting opportunities to improve wages and working conditions.