Sofia, January 12 (BTA) - The biggest problem of Bulgarian society is that there is a lack of social consensus on our main problems, which are inequalities, the unfair tax system and the lack of a tax-free minimum, as well as the demographic crisis, said Lyuboslav Kostov, director of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and chief economist of the Confederation, in an interview for BTA.
 
According to him, Bulgaria's population has shrunk by more than 800,000 people in a decade, and this country remains the poorest in the EU with the most drastically low rates compared to other economies.
 
CITUB'S chief economist said that last year Bulgarians working for the minimum wage lost real purchasing power for the first time since 2011.
 
In his opinion, the claim that the increase in the minimum wage risks excluding part of the low-skilled manpower from the labour market is not supported by empirical evidence.
 
With a minimum wage, Bulgarians can buy two times less bread and three times less rice than people in Germany. The situation is similar with other vital goods. The amount of the minimum wage in Germany is 4.8 times higher than in Bulgaria, in Poland it is 1.9 times higher, and in Romania - 1.4 times, the expert said.
      
In response to a question, Kostov said that what was done about pensions did not bring justice but was a step in the right direction. With the current minimum pension there are still one million to one million and two hundred thousand pensioners who are below the poverty line, which also rose to 413 leva, but if we follow the methodology of Eurostat, it should even be 460 leva, he said.
 
According to Kostov, an approach must be found to integrate this money, which is currently given per capita, into pensions on a solidary and fair basis, as there is no way to take from retirees because they use such goods and services whose inflation is much higher than average.
   
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Social issues are a special focus in the conference Bulgarian Voices for Europe, organized by the Bulgarian News Agency on January 14 at the BTA Press Club in Pazardzhik. Among the topics expected to be discussed are the pension reform, social security, maternity support, the implementation of social services in the community, the work of state, municipal and non-governmental organizations in solving social problems.

Find out more about the BTA initiative Bulgarian Voices for Europe at: https://europe.bta.bg/
   
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