Sun, Nov 22 2009

Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company to cut salaries 30 per cent

Mon, Aug 31 2009 16:33 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 847 Views 1 Comment
Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company to cut salaries 30 per cent

Photo: Georgi Kozhuharov

Bulgaria’s National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) has a 50 million leva deficit and is implementing a temporary salary cut of 30 per cent with effect from September 1 2009, NRIC chief executive Anton Ginev said.
 
After January 1 2010, the 30 per cent monthly reduction will be paid with interest, Ginev told an August 31 news conference.
 
Ginev said that the temporary wage reduction was part of a package of anti-crisis measures agreed with unions earlier in 2009, although Bulgarian news agency BTA said that the unions had described most of the measures in the package as unacceptable.
 
Other measures that NRIC will implement include staff reductions and closure of some rail routes.
 
Factors worsening the NRIC’s financial position included Bulgarian State Railways BDZ being late in payments owed to the NRIC, a shortfall in financing and unsuccessful tenders for operating assets.
 
It is projected that about 2000 NRIC employees will lose their jobs. The company currently has 15 532 people on the payroll, daily Dnevnik said on August 24.
 
BDZ is in serious financial trouble of its own, with aggravating factors including reduced passenger and freight traffic and one of its key customers, Kremikovtzi steel plant, going insolvent.
 

Comments

Anonymous john wood Tue, Sep 29 2009 00:44 CET
Inappropriate comment?

I am english and i am a resident of Kardzhali. I have traveled by train many times in BG. The sleeper train from Varna to Sofia is fine, 10pm varna, 6am Sofia. No problem. Just go to sleep and wake in Sofia. But i have traveled non sleeping from Dobrich to Sofia in the winter, no heating until Stara Zagora (horrible). And i desided to us the train from Kardzhali to Sofia, (4 hours on the bus), The journey took 10 hours, No heating for much of the journey. I dont think the train has a future in BG.

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