Today, the Chairman of FTTU Eng. Aleksandar Shopov, together with the President of CITUB Plamen Dimitrov, held a meeting with Grozdan Karadzhov - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications. The meeting was attended by the Vice President of CITUB Todor Kapitanov and the Chairman of TU Burgas Airport Todor Todorov.

During the conversation, key topics in the sectors of water, air, and land transport were discussed.

Regarding water transport, emphasis was placed on the development of the ports of Varna East, Varna West, and Ruse. The topic of the general plans of the port terminals, which "linger" in the Ministry of Environment and Water, and the non-competitive environment in which they are placed compared to their Romanian competitors was also touched upon.

The government's plans for concessioning of port terminals and other infrastructure facilities were also a topic of discussion. Deputy Prime Minister Grozdan Karadzhov commented that "Bulgaria ranks last in the European Union in this type of public-private partnership. The future of Bulgaria in the next 10 years will be determined by this topic," he was categorical, assuring that the plan for the facilities being prepared for concession will be discussed with the trade unions.

FTTU and CITUB categorically stated their disagreement with any such potential actions and requested detailed information on the intentions of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC).

There are more than one or two examples of deterioration in social benefits and workers' rights in the presence of a concessionaire, commented the Chairman of FTTU.

In air transport, attention was paid to Sofia, Varna, and Burgas Airports. Todor Todorov brought up the topic of the development of Burgas Airport.

Among the issues discussed was the necessity of appointing more inspectors in the Executive Agency "Road Administration", as well as an increase in remuneration, for which FTTU and CITUB have requested an additional 4.5 million from the state, for which we also expect assistance from MTC before the Ministry of Finance.

The question regarding the necessary additional funds to go to the municipalities for urban transport companies was also raised.

"Money is being sought for increasing the salaries of those working in urban public transport, protests are expected, as without additional funds there is no way to reach the expected salary increases of at least 15%," pointed out the President of CITUB.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is expected to send official answers to FTTU and CITUB as soon as possible on all raised questions, as well as the relevant analyses and data, broken down by sectors.