December 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's interim government said that it is raising the gross minimum monthly salary by 9.9% to 780 levs ($425/399 euro) as of January 1, 2023.
The increase takes into account the macroeconomic parameters and the capacity of the state budget, the cabinet said in a press release on Thursday.
In annual comparison terms, the increase amounts to 20%, labour and social affairs minister Lazar Lazarov told the media.
The adoption of a new gross minimum salary also prepares the ground for the creation of a framework for determining the minimum wage in line with new EU rules.
"The development of the framework will start at the beginning of 2023, when together with the social partners we will start work on creating the prerequisites for the implementation of the adequate minimum wage directive," Lazarov said.
In October, EU ministers granted final approval to a new directive on adequate minimum wages across the bloc. The directive aims to improve the level of statutory minimum wages and to enhance the mechanisms of collective bargaining to strengthen wage protection.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)