FTTU held a meeting with municipal councilors from the transport committee in Sofia Municipality!

Today, the chairman of FTTU – Eng. Alexander Shopov held a working meeting with the chairman of the Commission on Transport and Road Safety of the Sofia Municipal Council Ivan Takov and municipal councilors Andrey Zografski and Proshko Proshkov.

The meeting was also attended by the chairmen of the trade union organizations from the urban transport companies in Sofia.

The meeting took place at the invitation of Mr. Takov, with the main topic being the financial framework of urban transport in the capital and the need to update the salaries of employees in the municipal transport companies.

The current state of financing, the accumulated problems related to the lack of funds, as well as the possibilities for sustainably improving working conditions were discussed.

From the side of FTTU, several critically important issues were clearly and categorically raised:

• the rumors in the public space about a possible concession of part of the urban transport in Sofia;

• ensuring the regular payment of wages;

• poor working conditions;

• the need to increase basic wages.

Ivan Takov stated that there is no intention to concession activities from urban transport, emphasizing that in the event of such an initiative, the BSP group would strongly oppose it.

Regarding the payment of wages, it was assured that at the moment there are no difficulties and wages are paid regularly.

In the course of the conversation, there was a general understanding that despite the difficult financial situation and the lack of an approved budget, solutions need to be found for increasing wages and for real improvement of working conditions – provision of spare parts, renewal of the mobile fleet, and better material base.

Eng. Shopov stated that it is necessary to use the opportunities provided by the state, instead of unnecessarily spending public funds. In this regard, he again presented the activities of the "Working Conditions Fund", emphasizing that through it employers can receive financial support to improve working conditions, increase safety and prevent occupational risks. He added that the active use of this tool is essential both for protecting the health of workers and for the more effective and appropriate management of public resources.

Companies are expected to present detailed calculations of the necessary funds for salary increases and for financing measures to improve working conditions within two weeks.

A new meeting will be scheduled to discuss specific steps and solutions in the interest of the workers and the stability of urban transport in Sofia.