At a press conference of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research and Training at the KNSB, the results of the traditional monitoring of consumer prices and the Living Wage for the first quarter of 2024 were presented.
The president of KNSB Plamen Dimitrov, the director of ISSIO Luboslav Kostov and the deputy director of the institute Violeta Ivanova took part in the press conference.
The necessary net monthly income to support life, according to the data of the Central Bank of Ukraine, is BGN 1,454 for a working person living alone, or BGN 1,873 gross remuneration.
They are needed BGN 2,616 in total for a family of three, consisting of two working adults and one child under the age of 14. In the case of one working parent in a family of three, his gross income should be no less than BGN 3,372.
Income needed for living rose by 1.1% quarter-on-quarter and by 4.3% year-on-year to reach 14.6% in the same period in March 2023/2022
Based on the data, it is established that the living wage recorded a weak quarterly growth, but already at a higher base accumulated in the previous two years.
Price growth for the small consumer basket, which includes 20 basic and vital goods, showed a one-year increase of 4.2%. There is a hold in prices for some commodity products, even a slight drop, but in general they remain at high levels.
The data also show that nearly 2/3 of the working people are provided with an income lower than a living wage (65.3%). 31.2% of employed persons work with wages of up to BGN 1,000.
There is also a 15% increase in income, KNSB also reports.
Harmonized indices of consumer prices (HICP) in Bulgaria remain above the average for the EU and the Eurozone. For some foods and products there is a price increase ahead of the EU average (e.g. potatoes, pork, medicine, water supply).
Bulgaria does not maintain the necessary level of wage growth to guarantee effective convergence. Our country continues to have the lowest level of health insurance among other EU member states. Social Security is 55.3% of a living wage (per 1 person in a family of three), which means that it does not provide the necessary living expenses.
After a two-year period of significant increase in price levels globally, it can be noted that the past first quarter of 2024 indicates that the global economy is entering a period of calm inflation indices. This trend inevitably reflects the Bulgarian economy, which is directly dependent on what is happening on the international markets of basic raw materials and goods. The control of price growth is thanks to the stabilizing prices of raw materials and energy carriers.
Natural gas prices in March compared to December marked a significant drop of -32.2%. On an annual basis (i.e. compared to March 2023), the decrease already reaches -46.2%. Since the beginning of 2024, there has been a downward trend in raw material prices. 9% growth was registered in oil prices. The average price at which it was traded in March 2024 was $85.41, compared to $78.43 for the same period in 2023.
There is a drop in electricity prices for businesses – 42% on an annual basis, reaching an average price of BGN 124 per megawatt hour per month, compared to BGN 212 for the same period in 2023.
Consider significant downward corrections in the purchase prices of cereals and oil crops. At the end of March, the price (BGN/ton) of bread wheat decreased on an annual basis by -23.3%, for sunflower there was a drop of -15.2%. Expectations are that there will be no jumps in wheat in the current season, due to the favorable conditions for the areas sown with winter wheat in the EU and the presence of low purchase prices in the largest producer, Russia. Expectations for growth in native sunflower and corn yields also contribute to the downward price dynamics.
The KNSB insists on:
– Speeding up the process of transposition of DAMP3 in all its parts;
– Preparation of the process of transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive; the minimum wage should be no less than 50% of the national average;
– Nominal income growth of at least 12-15% in 2024. In this way, at least 6-7% real growth in the purchasing power of workers will be achieved;
– Introduction of tax-free income; sato benchmark in the medium term to achieve the maximum approximation of MP3 to ZI.
