Regional Project for Labour Relations and Social Dialogue in South East Europe January 2011 Annual Review 2010 on Labour Relations and Social Dialogue in South East Europe: Bulgaria By Plamen Dimitrov* Content Executive 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 employers’ 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. Executive summary Compared to the other European countries, Bulgaria experienced the impact of the global financial and economic crisis somewhat later. This effect, however, did not prove to be the only decisive factor. For years, wrong policies have been in place in this country, relying on low labor cost and social dumping, characteristic for the so called ‘economics of supply’, of misconceived and forever postponed reforms. Now these policies are bearing some bitter fruits. In fact, the anti-crisis measures did not only