Just 60 thousand levs has the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in store for to examine the impact of minimum social security benefits and the minimum wage on employment in the country. The money will be given to a team of outside experts, who in four months will have to make a number of studies on the issue and to draw a specific report. This will be a sociological study of the attitudes and opinions of employers, employees and among representatives of the social partners at national and regional level. Then it will be folowed by a comparative analysis of the current and previous studies carried out by various Bulgarian institutions and organizations. Foreign experts will have to review the experience of other Member States of the EU with regard to minimum insurance income, so as to identify best practices.
The basis for determining the minimum insurance income is the minimum wage. It represents the lowest insurance income , which is determined by economic activities and qualification groups of professions.
The need for these analyzes stems from the simultaneous rise in unemployment in the years of the crisis, accompanied by a relatively high growth rate of the average wage, which recognizes national statistics. Reduced labour demand suggests contraction in labour costs and delays in the growth rate of wages. The observed increase in average wages during the crisis years gives grounds to explore existing regulations in the labour market, said officials from the Ministry of Labour .
The need for such a study comes in response to the recommendation of the European Council of 19 June towards the National Reform Programme of Bulgaria country to review security/income thresholds to ensure that the system does not make it expensive to hire low-skilled workers .
In their analysis experts will have to pay particular attention to undeclared wages, which can be obtained with either no written agreement, and also within the registered employment, but as a portion of the payment that is done without issuing the respective documents.
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