"Bulgarian Govt's Sudden Cash Offer Halts Transportation Strike in Capital", 20 May 2025

After a six-day workers’ strike, public transport in Sofia was restored on Tuesday – but with unions hinting that this might not be the end of their demand for higher wages and better working conditions...

Terziev, who won the mayoralty in 2023, backed by the opposition We Continue the Change party – ending GERB’s nearly two-decade reign over the capital – rejected the strikers’ demands.

He said the municipality did not have the money to increase drivers’ pay by 400 leva [204 euros] as demanded, as unions called for further wage increases in the next two years... 

Borissov [GERB party leader] denied any involvement with the strike, despite GERB-affiliated members stating their support, or attending demonstrations. Meanwhile, several meetings between officials and the unions ended unsuccessfully.

On Sunday, several thousand people demonstrated in support of Terziev, believing the situation had been orchestrated by the mayor’s opponents. 

Hours later, following a meeting between GERB and the strike leaders, Prime Minister and GERB member Rossen Zhelyazkov announced that 15 million leva – 7.6 million euros – from the state budget would be transferred to the municipality to meet the demands of the drivers...

...Aleksandar Shopov of the Federation of Transport Syndicates in Bulgaria and Ivan Kiril of the Federation of the Transport Workers and municipality adviser to the Bulgarian Socialist Party...warned that protests might resume if no strategy is agreed on increasing wages further in the near future...