1. KRIB
banker.bg – The tripartite is discussing changes in the payment of benefits to the labor exchange
Published: 24.04.2024/08/40 XNUMX:XNUMX
The National Council for Tripartite Cooperation will hold its first meeting today (April 24) under the mandate of the caretaker government. The Tripartite is expected to consider changes to the Ordinance on granting and paying unemployment benefits on the exchange.
At the meeting, the representatives of the trade unions - KNSB, KT "Podkrepa", of the employers - KRIB, of business - the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and of the state - in the person of Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova - will discuss the project of the National Employment Action Plan.
According to it, it is planned that 88 million BGN - 15 million BGN more than in 2023 - will be directed to the implementation of active policies on the labor market in 2024.
https://banker.bg/2024/04/24/%d0%b1%d0%be%d1%80%d1%81%d0%b0%d1%82%d0%b0/
economic.bg – Italian business expands its investments in Bulgaria
Published: 24.04.2024/08/15 XNUMX:XNUMX
In 2009, his life's journey brought him to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where his family business is engaged in fruit growing and has processing activities and significant production for export to 35 countries.
Roberto Santorelli is the president of Confindustria Bulgaria, which unites Italian entrepreneurs in Bulgaria. He is a member of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) and the University of Food Technology.
Mr. Santoleri, according to your observations, how does the Italian business in Bulgaria accept the ESG concept and what steps is it taking in this direction?
Italian business in Bulgaria easily accepts the ESG concept because it is quite developed in Italy. For years, large enterprises have been preparing sustainability reports and demanding this from their suppliers, who are mainly small and medium-sized companies. Italian companies in Bulgaria are already ready for these requirements, because they do it there and are starting to build it here as well.
What investments are Italian companies making in Bulgaria?
A lot of companies are investing in solar parks that they build in businesses, and what they're doing is investing in a circular economy. They are also very interested in internal staff training. Confindustria Bulgaria is currently participating in an international project for artificial intelligence, which will monitor the competencies in companies and develop them. This project will be used by companies for additional training of their employees.
The introduction of the so-called ESG reporting in Bulgaria, the transposition of the CSRD, with the changes in the Accounting Law is pending. What challenges do businesses face in this regard?
Whenever there is something new, companies worry. But in reality this is not something new, because it has been reported in Italy for a long time. That's why we're organizing this conference – to prove to companies that tracking ESG metrics is important to the company itself. The point is not to report just because the law requires it. What is important is that when a company starts an initiative, it should think about how it affects the environment, employees, society and the company itself. This is most important because it is the only way you can be sustainable as a business. We see this very clearly with the complaints about the shortage of some specialists - they are not built from today to tomorrow. They should be invested in training. Innovations enter very quickly and if we are not close to universities, schools, we cannot have ready-made personnel.
Do you have any comments on the Accounting Act Amendment Bill?
Not for now. We are waiting for the new government to see if they will make some changes or decide to accept it as it is.
It seems that the Italian presence in Bulgaria has been growing in recent years. Is there interest from potential new Italian investors in Bulgaria and from what fields are they?
What we have noticed in the last two years is that the very companies that invested years ago are expanding. In this way, Italian investments are increasing.
And are there new investors who are studying Bulgaria?
There is a study, we will see if it will be realized as an investment. A major investment that will be put into operation is the photovoltaic panel plant near Yambol.
What are the biggest concerns of potential investors?
The biggest concern of potential investors and of us already here is political instability. If there is a stable government, one can talk, discuss plans for the future. If not, the modus operandi is constantly changing and companies cannot plan for these things. This is a serious problem and I don't know if it will be removed in any way with the next election.
Half of Bulgaria is already in Schengen. This seems to be a great advantage for Italy, since a third of Bulgarian exports to Italy are by water.
Yes, the current trade exchange between Bulgaria and Italy is about 3.5 billion euros. Indeed, the fact that you are already in Schengen makes transport a lot easier, even though Bulgaria is not fully in Schengen. This greatly facilitates the transport and movement of goods. This also has a good effect on tourism.
Could this albeit half-hearted Schengen be an incentive for potential investors?
This is probably a relief, but the biggest incentive is political stability, which is also related to full entry into Schengen. Investors want to invest in a stable country. On the other hand, the fact that goods can move faster is very important. Years ago, we had an Italian company in Rousse that wanted to expand its production, but because of the too busy bridge between Bulgaria and Romania, they preferred to go to Romania. That is why we often talk to the Ministry of Regional Development to push for a second bridge near Ruse, because this is important for investments.
We are also working on an intermodal terminal project. The idea is to connect Northern Italy with Bulgaria and from Bulgaria to reach Eastern Europe. This project includes rail, sea and land transport and requires investments from Italy, Bulgaria and private investors. We want this to be a public-private partnership.
How much would this project cost?
According to rough calculations, about 2 billion euros.
https://www.economic.bg/bg/a/view/italianskijat-biznes-razshirjava-investiciite-si-v-bylgarija
2. Employers
expert.bg - Green light for easier hiring of foreign seasonal workers
Published: 24.04.2024/14/50 XNUMX:XNUMX
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The Parliamentary Committee on Tourism adopted in the first reading the draft law on amendments and additions to the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria (ZChRB), submitted by Manoil Manev and Temenuzka Petkova from the PG GERB-SDS, which aims to optimize the process of hiring third-party citizens countries of seasonal work.
Acting Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev, who was present at the commission's meeting, pointed out that solving the problem of seasonal workers from third countries is a matter of concern employer organizations in tourism that are experiencing problems in filling the labor shortage. Passing this bill would be a sign of how the people's representative supports the work of the employers at this difficult moment, Miloshev said and added that it would be an undoubted success if these normative changes were adopted in the remaining two working days of this parliament.
The main changes relate to the procedure for providing the opportunity for long-term and short-term seasonal employment. The bill aims to create a legal opportunity for a foreigner who resides on the territory of Bulgaria and holds a residence permit, other than the single permit for residence and work, highly qualified employment and intra-corporate transfer, to apply for residence without having to leave the territory of the country , is stated in the reasons for the draft normative act.
More: Here are how many foreigners received work permits in our country
The draft law aims to specify the relevant provisions of the Labor Code regarding the health insurance of seasonal workers with the authorized right of long-term residence after receiving the residence document; possibility of extending the period of residence of foreigners performing seasonal work.
The draft law was also accepted at first reading by the Committee on Internal Security and Public Order at an extraordinary meeting yesterday.
More: NRA: Seasonal workers must pay for their own health insurance
blitz.bg – Will Smilen Valov leave the Employment Agency after the huge chaos?
Published: 24.04.2024/11/10 XNUMX:XNUMX
https://blitz.bg/obshtestvo/shche-izleti-li-smilen-vlov-ot-agentsiyata-po-zaetostta-sled-ogromniya-khaos_news1014574.html Blitz.bg
Total chaos reigns in the Employment Agency and labor offices throughout the country. The reason is the bad management of the structure by director Smilen Valov, many told BLITZ employers, employees of the agency and mayors of municipalities. He is from the PP-DB and shows an inability to deal with problems. Even his people no longer want to carry the negativity he causes among the employers and unemployed people, thinking it should be replaced.
The business complains that the processing of foreigner access documents / more than 2000 files according to information from employers. With the new organizational regulations of the Employment Agency, an independent directorate was created with a significantly increased number of employees. In practice, the situation has not changed since the past years. On the contrary, it has become worse.
The teams in the employment offices cannot assist either the unemployed or the the employers. The reason is that they do not have information about what, when is coming, whether there will be any employment programs, how and in what order they will be financed, for what target groups and activities, whether and when they will tentatively start, etc. And in a year in which the state budget was adopted in a timely manner, the operational programs are already almost in the middle of the program period, the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability and many other programs and procedures financed with European funds are implemented. For comparison, in the previous 2 years, although there was no National Employment Action Plan in the first 4-6 months, there was information for all groups.
Voucher training in digital skills advertised on the Employment Agency's website still remains unclear to staff at employment offices, and therefore to potential users of this service, say staff and employers. There are problems with payments under the current contracts for subsidized employment due to the change, personnel and technical insecurity of the new paying unit (the former 9 regional accounting departments perform the activities of the new 30 accounting departments in the 28 regional labor offices).
In addition to the lack of information, since the beginning of this year there has been a sharp change in the work of the labor offices, which is not typical for them. Their visible desire and effort to be useful is severely limited by the impossibility of achieving it, given that they cannot give answers to the questions put to them and clearly no longer have anyone to turn to, seek and receive adequate answers and necessary information in headquarters. There are also no accessible sources for obtaining one. The publications on the website and social networks of the Agency are related to forums and bragging, but they are not directed and do not bring information to the clients of the employment offices very positive, but they usually do not concern the work at the local level, the services of the agency, which for years we have received, we look for and rely on them again, explained representatives of the business organizations.
With the changes since the beginning of the year, staff and free staff have been redirected to administrative, control and other positions and activities that are not directly related to the provision of the services of the Employment Agency, which directly reduces the capacity for basic activities - mediation and other services to the unemployed and employers. According to information from employees, chaos reigns in the system, as it is already the fourth month after the structural changes, there are no clear instructions, instructions, the main mediation activity is not subject to such at all, incl. and due to the re-directed focus and headcount to control and accounting activities. The active policy /programs, measures, employment projects/ is even more unclear; the new financial departments in the regional labor offices are not staffed and do not work adequately; coordination links and communication channels between headquarters and local offices is almost absent or inadequate.
According to employees, there is tension at all levels because there is inequality in the pay of experts with the same positions and workplaces, due to the fact that some of them are led by a central directorate (or are from "their own"); numerous disciplinary proceedings (including on public procurements, wrongly announced, for which a corresponding audit should probably be carried out both on the procurement and on unjustified punishments, inflicted moral and psychological damage, excess of authority, etc.), premature or forced dismissal of personnel, mass appointment in the last 2 months to key positions, disrespect and underestimation of some employees/teams on the principle of "ours and others"; neglecting basic functions and activities in the headquarters and labor offices, etc., experts from the agency comment.
The structure lacks prioritization of activities related to European funds, control activities, which leads to an increase in personnel, respectively the costs for them at the expense of those related to the main intermediary function of AZ / what are the costs of control activities, travel expenses, for example, compared to the same period in 2023, by how much have they changed?/, the employees ask. The answer is in the hands of the new official social minister, and he must be quick and decisive!
dnes.bg – Until 2026: The secret of salaries in the company falls
Published: 23.04.2024/22/05 XNUMX:XNUMX
Until then, we have to implement the Brussels directive. Brussels has passed a directive according to which salary secrecy must be abolished and companies must publish the starting salaries of their employees on their websites. Our country has until June 7, 2026 to implement the directive of the European Parliament and the European Council of May 10, 2023, to strengthen the implementation of the principle of equal pay for women and men, equal work, or work of equal value through pay transparency , Todor Kapitanov, vice-president of KNSB, announced to BNR.
According to him, there is no problem with personal salaries being announced, as what should be introduced in Bulgarian legislation is that, upon request, employees have the right to know the criteria by which their remuneration is determined, as well as that of those working in a similar position in the company.
Also the employer must demonstrate no difference in pay between men and women. Kapitanov pointed out that until now, when a person starts work, the salary negotiation is based on bargaining, but after the introduction of the directive, there must be precise and clear criteria by which the amount will be determined.
"Regarding the directive the employers they do not have the right to ask and find out in advance what the salary of the previous job was, so that they can decide whether to give a lower or a higher one. The whole purpose of all these actions is to make a way to determine the price of labor based on objective criteria, and not on subjective ones, as is the case in most cases in Bulgaria", revealed Kapitanov.
He added that the difference in wages is also reflected in pensions, as women's pensions are on average BGN 138 lower than men's.
This happened Dnes, for the important things of the day follow us also in Google News Showcase
https://www.dnes.bg/notifikacii/2024/04/23/do-2026-g-pada-tainata-na-zaplatite-vyv-firmata.605417
3. Business
investbg.net – Lion's Head acquired three logistics parks in Varna, Sofia and Ruse for €71,4 million
Published: 24.04.2024/14/50 XNUMX:XNUMX
The investment company in business properties Lion's Head has signed a contract for the acquisition of the company BPD - an investor in logistics and industrial properties. The deal is the largest in the sector for years - amounting to EUR 71,4 million.
With this investment, AG Capital enters a new class for the group business properties and became the second largest owner of industrial areas in Bulgaria. The purchase was realized with an investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) - part of the World Bank and financing by UniCredit Bulbank.
The three project sites have a total built-up area of 75 square meters and are located in key locations for the country - Sofia, Varna and Ruse. Lion's Head is a joint venture between AG Capital and Old Mutual Property. In the logistics centers that the business acquires, there are tenants such as international companies Phoenix Pharma, DHL, DB Schenker, Carlsberg, Speedy (Geopost), Wurth, Sopharma, etc.
Source: Lion's Head
Ruse logistics center
The park in Varna is one of the few in our Maritime Capital that offers both dry storage and temperature-controlled storage areas. The park also has a rooftop photovoltaic plant. It is also the largest of the three logistics parks. The center is dominant for the city and the region and offers over 42 square meters of warehouse, office and commercial space.
The World Bank invests €150 million in a platform for business properties operating in Bulgaria
Lion's Head owns and manages five office buildings: two in Sofia and three in Bucharest
The project in Sofia has a strategic location on the eastern arc of the Ring Road, with quick access to the central city areas, the airport, and the Hemus and Trakia highways. The project was chosen as the central warehouse of the leading pharmaceutical distribution company "Phoenix Pharma" and "Sopharma Trading".
Source: Lion's Head
Sofia logistics center
The logistics center in Ruse is located in close proximity to Danube Bridge 1 and the key border link with Romania, in the city's only modern industrial zone.
"Lion's Head plans to expand the current projects with the construction of an additional 28 square meters in Varna and Ruse," commented Vladimir Gyurdzhiev, Group Director of Logistics Projects, Lion's Head.
About us
Lion's Head is a landmark investment and management company business properties in Central and Eastern Europe. The company's portfolio includes five office buildings with a total area of 235 square meters: two in Sofia - Poligrafia Office Center and Megapark, and three in Bucharest - Oregon Park. Among the tenants are the global companies Oracle, Deloitte, EY, Thermo Fisher, Bosch, Groupama, Payhawk, Kostal, GFK.
Article source: https://money.bg/companies/kompaniya-za-investitsii-v-biznes-imoti-pridobi-tri-logistichni-parka-vav-varna-sofiya-i-ruse-za-eur71-4-miliona .html
dariknews.bg – Are there layoffs due to the introduction of artificial intelligence in our country
Published: 24.04.2024/14/40 XNUMX:XNUMX
Google News Showcase
, but in some areas the need for qualified specialists remains. The good news for high-tech job seekers is that there is some conservatism in the EU member states, including Bulgaria, regarding the use of business the processes. This means that a drastic reduction of workers to be replaced by "smart machines" is not yet observed. This became known from the words of, executive director of the Innovation Association, business services and technology (AIBEST). She pointed out that there were layoffs globally last year as many people were hired during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the need for digitization.” In companies are now returning to the normal number of staff they need. In our country, this process is not tangible. Artificial intelligence is - for the most part, businesses are still figuring out how to apply it in their work to increase productivity," said Georgieva. She also added that they are in the direction of increasing the efficiency of operations in a given business. "This, of course, does not include layoffs," the executive director of AIBEST specified. According to her, laws on artificial intelligence are still being adopted in Europe, which brings the need for new adaptation. The business, for its part, is of the opinion that the future of technology lies in it, but is still relatively reserved about revealing its full potential, it became known from Georgieva's words. Today, the Innovation Association, business services and technologies (AIBEST) organized a meeting in Burgas between representatives of the organization, business and educational institutions in the city. The initiative takes place within the framework of the third national "Road Show" of AIBEST, aiming to shorten the distance between the learners and the companies of the IT sector offering jobs. "Last year we gathered about 400 children. A large part of them found a field for realization. Many of the children also participated in another initiative of ours - "Technical Academy", with which we help them further develop by working on various projects in groups. We also have children who have found permanent jobs. The business shared that it has found a lot of staff in Burgas", said Natalia Georgieva.
banker.bg – The business is looking for 200 workers, it will go bankrupt if the state does not intervene urgently
Published: 24.04.2024/13/25 XNUMX:XNUMX
The problem of the lack of labor is not only a problem of Bulgaria and the European Union, it is a problem of a global scale, said Veselin Halachev during the opening of the National Forum "Labour from third countries in support of Bulgarian business".
200 workers are missing from business, 000 are missing from tourism business, because of which the 2024 season is in question. The state must intervene urgently and facilitate the processes of importing labor from third countries, otherwise we are in for a lot of failed businesses.
The idea of greater efficiency in the processing of documents was also supported by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Nikolay Pavlov, who reminded that his department has initiated a serious analysis of the problem and that since the beginning of April a digital platform has been working, a blue card that will digitize the processes for recruiting foreign workers in our country. In the process of attracting highly qualified personnel, the commercial attachés abroad, who number 60, may also be involved.
The subject of the labor force is underestimated, it is being worked on piecemeal, and since 2017 the problems have deepened, said the deputy from GERB Denitsa Sacheva. According to her, the subject of the labor market should be leading in social policy. She is convinced that forums like this one – where legislators, administration and business, are extremely useful. The state must intervene and determine which are the priority sectors. MP Vanina Vecina also called for unification of the institutions in the name of a common cause. According to BSP MP Dragomir Stoynev, there is no consistent policy on the issue of the workforce. Her absence was also felt in the administration.
The discussion was also attended by representatives of the Employment Agency, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, teachers, experts, and business representatives. In the National business a representative of the Ministry of Labor and Poverty Alleviation in Uzbekistan joined the forum, who shared that his country is ready to send a workforce to our country.
More about the event at: UBC (ubclubs.eu)
Read more on the topic of: Why would Germany import labor when it has at least a million migrants? (banker.bg)
investor.bg - Are companies in our country ready for changes in business software because of the euro
Published: 23.04.2024/22/55 XNUMX:XNUMX
It is still not clear how the fiscal devices will communicate with the NRA
The readjustment of business software used by companies in Bulgaria to work with the euro after the country's accession to the eurozone depends on the adoption of the regulatory framework. In the integration with the fiscal devices, preparations cannot be made without clear communication with these devices so that the exchange of data with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) occurs. However, companies can do preliminary tests, hold talks with software suppliers, said Pasco Paskov, a member of the Bulgarian Association for the Development of business software and manager of "Step-Soft", in the show "Business start" Bloomberg TV Bulgaria.
The public discussion of the law for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria ends on April 24, after which it must be voted on in the National Assembly. The law provides for an 18-month period of announcing prices in euros and leva and updating all fiscal devices. Clear deadlines were also given for the various stages of the change in the devices, but it is not clear how their communication with the NRA will be carried out due to subsequent changes in Ordinance H-18 for registering and reporting sales in commercial establishments, Paskov said.
The Bulgarian Institute of Metrology depends not only on the approval of fiscal devices, but the approval of all systems of gas stations, large retail chains, etc., he specified.
"Now it is clear that we have a law that states that changes must be made in the fiscal devices, but the rest is not clear - accounting software, for labor and wages, etc.," explained the guest.
You can watch more about the expected technical challenges during the introduction of the euro in the Bloomberg TV Bulgaria video.
http://www.turbulence.tech