On February 23, 2026, the Chairman of FTTU, Eng. Aleksandar Shopov, held a meeting with the Mayor of Sofia Municipality, Vasil Terziev, and the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Viktor Chaushev. The meeting was also attended by the chairpersons of the trade union organizations of FTTU in the public transport companies.

On behalf of the federation, Eng. Shopov made the following demands clearly and categorically:
- an increase in the basic salaries of all employees in public transport;
- priority treatment for deficit occupations;
- signing a two-year agreement with the Mayor of Sofia to provide predictability and security for the workers;
- securing targeted funds to improve working conditions, with trade unions participating directly in their distribution;
- providing new rolling stock and spare parts;
- providing new service machinery for "Transenergo";
- a clear position and guarantees for the future of the companies and preventing concessions in any form.

FTTU will request Sofia Municipality and the managements of the companies to provide detailed financial calculations. These calculations are necessary for the federation to make a reasoned case for specific amounts both for increasing basic salaries and for improving working conditions in all four transport companies.

Deputy Mayor Viktor Chaushev stated that he does not support concessioning the road transport activity. According to Eng. Shopov, this position is important, but it does not correspond to publicly shared intentions to service the new trams "entirely by the manufacturer," whereby workers would be relocated "where they are needed," without clear criteria and guarantees for their jobs and professional development.

In the words of the Chairman of FTTU, such an approach raises legitimate concerns of a hidden or indirect concession of activities, where management and control over key processes are gradually shifted out of the municipal companies under the pretext of efficiency.

FTTU categorically states that it will not allow municipal transport to be privatized "through the back door," through separate contracts or models that in practice usurp functions from public companies. Dialogue with the institutions should lead to clear public benefits, not to an non-transparent transfer of control that threatens job security, working conditions, and the quality of service for citizens.

During the meeting, Mayor Vasil Terziev pointed out that due to the limited budget, he cannot commit to specific financial obligations at this time. The Chairman of FTTU stressed that public transport employees perform their duties responsibly and without delay and expect the same attitude from the institutions. The sector is strategic for the functioning of the capital and requires timely and sustainable solutions.

FTTU and CITUB not only make demands but also propose concrete solutions. The federation has insisted on concluding a 3-year agreement with specific steps for the gradual improvement of remuneration, for improving working conditions, and with over 20 specific measures for the overall stabilization and development of the public transport system.

Meetings have been held with parliamentary groups and with the Ministry of Finance to ensure stable and predictable funding for the system. Concrete financial and organizational proposals have been presented. FTTU has also proposed joint meetings between municipalities and the Ministry of Finance to develop a sustainable funding model – an initiative supported by the mayors of Ruse and Varna.
In recent years, FTTU and CITUB have carried out a number of protest actions in defense of income, working conditions, and the future of public transport. As an example of public tension, we can also point to the discontent in Plovdiv against the model of assigning transport services to private operators, presented as "more efficient" and "better," but facing a serious public reaction. According to FTTU, this shows that replacing a municipal operator with a private one does not in itself automatically lead to better quality, greater sustainability, or better protection of workers. Experience shows that with a private operator, problems do not disappear, but often deepen when there are no clear rules, control, and social guarantees.

FTTU states that it will continue to stand up for workers' rights and insist on concrete deadlines and solutions. In the absence of real action from the institutions, the federation is ready to support its members again in protest actions in defense of their rights and dignity.