Public consultation on the conditions for awarding passenger rail services in Bulgaria began on 2 June. "The first meeting is, appropriately, with you – the trade unions – because you not only defend the rights of all railway workers and employees, but you also bring the knowledge, experience, and expertise in rail transport that we so greatly need." This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, who today presented to the trade union organisations a draft framework for setting the terms and procedures for awarding public service contracts to passenger rail transport operators.
"We plan to establish two regions in which candidates will compete to become regional operators, and a third region reserved for applicants with proven experience in the sector. In this way, we will initiate genuine competition in the rail sector. It is no coincidence that we chose this conservative approach, as it gives us the assurance that the operation of Bulgaria’s rail transport will remain in safe hands," explained Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov. The proposed duration of the contracts is 12 years. Rolling stock – including locomotives, coaches, and multiple units acquired by the state since 2009 – will be allocated proportionally to operators based on the volume of services provided.
"To fully protect the rights of workers, we are introducing a requirement that all staff retain their jobs after the new contracts take effect. The collective labour agreement will remain valid for the entire duration of the contracts. In accordance with Article 123, paragraph 1, item 7 of the Labour Codeemployment relationships with current operator staff will not be terminated, but transferred to the new operators of the public rail service," the Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov added.
"With regard to rolling stock maintenance, we propose establishing a separate company to take over all repair activities currently handled by BDZ. It will provide maintenance and repair services to all operators on equal terms," the Deputy Prime Minister further explained. On this topic, a separate meeting with the trade unions will be held to discuss the restructuring terms for these maintenance activities.
