January 2012 Annual Review 2011 on Labour Relations and Social Dialogue in South East Europe: Bulgaria By Plamen Dimitrov* Content Summary Socio-economic developments Governmental policies and legislation Industrial relations Tripartite social dialogue Forecasts Annex- Information about: Collective bargaining, social dialogue, social security, education& vocational train­ing, employment, wages Trade unions and employer organizations * Plamen Dimitrov, President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB/KNSB) and Budget Group Member of the European Economic and Social Committee © Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Regional Project for Labour Relations and Social Dialogue in South East Europe Tadeusa Koscuska 8/5 11000 Belgrade, Serbia E-Mail: fes@fessoe.de Internet: www.fessoe.de The text is available online: www.fessoe.de The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert­Stiftung or of the organization for which the author works. 1. Summary In political terms, the ruling party GERB managed to stabilize its positions by winning the president’s seat and a significant number of new mayoral seats in regional and mu­nicipal towns of the country at the two-in-one presidential and local elections in October 2011. The gradual revival of the industrial production and the GDP growth observed