Ministry of Labor

The low minimum wage disincentivises people from working and they prefer to live on benefits, according to Ivaylo Kalfin, Bulgaria's Minister of Labor and Social Policy.

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Aleksandar Vulin met on Tuesday with a delegation of the World Bank, who expressed satisfaction with the course of reforms being carried out in Serbia.

36% of Bulgarian businesses see the minimum wage as a deterrent to employment, according to a survey requested by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

The biggest share of opponents to the minimum wage was registered in the cities of Montana, Veliko Tarnovo and Kardzhali, where 43% of those polled said it was a deterrent to hiring young workers.

A total of nearly BGN 1.6 M has been provided for the integration of immigrants in Bulgaria in 2014 so far.

The funds were provided under European Fund for the Integration of Third Country Nationals at the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, an entity set up in 2007, according to reports of Sega daily.

Pre-trial proceedings for manslaughter have been opened over the flood victim in the northwestern Bulgarian town of Mizia.

The flood claimed the life of one on Sunday, with one person still missing, after the Skat River overflowed, flooding the lower parts of the town, according to reports of the Bulgarian National Television.

Budgets of Bulgarian ministries were reinforced at Wednesday's session held by the cabinet, amid expectations that the government is to step down.

Some BGN 7.365 M were granted to the Finance Ministry, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy received BGN 3 M.

Minister: Changes to pension law necessary

BELGRADE -- Finance Minister Lazar Krstić said on Thursday that it was "necessary to introduce changes to the Law on Pension Insurance."

The goal was "to ensure the sustainability of the pension system and public finances as a whole," he said.

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Lazar Krstic said on Thursday that it is necessary to introduce changes to the Law on Pension Insurance so as to ensure the sustainability of the pension system and public finances as a whole.

BELGRADE - Representatives of trade unions walked out of a meeting of the working group tasked with drafting amendments to the Labor Law on Thursday, and signaled that they will on Friday decide whether they will leave the talks completely and organize protests.

KRAGUJEVAC - A wreath-laying ceremony at the military cemetery complex in Kragujevac marked the traditional Serbian and Slovakian commemorative event in memory of Slovak and Czech soldiers who were executed in the city in 1918.