Sun, Jul 05 2009

No ideas, no protests

Tue, Aug 26 2008 19:50 CET byPetar Kostadinov 123 Views

The three major right-wing parties in opposition - the Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (abbreviated as GERB in Bulgarian), the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) and the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) - were asked to come forward with ideas in order to get the support of the two most powerful trade unions in Bulgaria in their quest for bringing down the Government.

The three parties met with the leaderships of Podkrepa trade union bloc and the Confederation of Trade Unions in Bulgaria on August 26 2008 to discuss joint actions against the coalition Government, Bulgarian National Television reported.

What trade unions want is the right-wing parties' strategies in areas such as health care, labour market and social securitiy. Another thing asked by trade unions is for the minimum wage in the country to become 260 leva a month, compared to the current 220 leva.

The three parties already said that they will start gathering signatures against the Government on September 6, when Bulgaria celebrates the anniversary of its unification in 1885.

The right-wing parties want early elections for Parliament ahead of next year's regular elections, citing the Government's inability in fighting organised crime and corruption, which is a criticism shared by the European Commission.

On August 26, however, the two trade unions said that they will stage protests but only on certain concrete agendas and will not call for general protests against the Government because it was not clear yet whether the Government had an alternative.

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