Paid near minimum wage: Sofia Zoo staff begin open-ended protest
Workers at the Bulgarian capital's zoo are demanding a 50 percent increase in the wage fund for 2027 and a further 20 percent for 2028. The first action is today at noon at the main gate; a strike is being prepared.
Archive image · Photo: Nikolai Karaneschev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Employees of Sofia Zoo have announced an open-ended protest, with the first action planned for Saturday from 12:30 to 13:00 local time in front of the main entrance. According to the BTA news agency, the protest will be peaceful, while staff are also preparing an actual strike and say they will continue until their demands are met.
In a declaration to Mayor Vasil Terziev and the city council, they are calling for the wage fund to be raised by 50 percent in 2027 and by a further 20 percent in 2028. Most employees earn around the minimum wage, according to the Podkrepa trade union; Aneliya Ivanova, who chairs the union's relevant federation, called the pay "humiliatingly low." The workers also want better conditions, including changing and break rooms, adequate hygiene and enough staff to ensure their safety.
"We want not only higher salaries but also better working conditions," zoo spokeswoman Irina Sahatchieva said. According to media reports, some newly trained young staff leave after about a month because they cannot live on the pay.