Work

Bulgaria had the lowest percentage in the European Union of people working from home in 2020, at 1.2 per cent compared with an EU average of 12.3 per cent in the 15-64 age group, the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat said on May 17.

The social distancing measures that were introduced as a response to the Covd-19 pandemic forced many people to work from home, Eurostat said.

Ljubljana – The jobless total increased by 12% in 2020 compared to 2019 as the Covid-19 epidemic affected the labour market. However, the employment expectations indicator is rising and nearing the level recorded at the start of 2020, the Statistics Office said ahead of Labour Day.

The amendment by the Government of the labour legislation by eliminating the obligation of micro-enterprises to draw up in writing the job description for employees changes the status of millions of citizens from employees to slaves, it is mentioned in a release issued on Thursday by the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS).

These countries have always been atop the World Happiness Index report, first published in 2013. This cannot be a coincidence and there is definitely something special about them that sets them apart from the rest of the world.

Todor Kapitanov, labour law expert and National Secretary of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, predicts that returning to the office will be the next major issue. Re-adjusting to the physical workplace will be just as hard as getting used to teleworking because employees have acquired new habits, Kapitanov told BTA.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic more than 50% of Bulgarians have been working from home. A quarter of companies have introduced flexible working arrangements and plan to keep them after the crisis is over.

These new relationships between employers and staff require new regulations and the formation of a culture of "switching off from work" to protect employees' private time.

Dozens of workers hired by China's state-controlled Zijin Mining Group Co. staged a rare show of dissent on January 14 when they protested in front of a copper mining complex in the Serbian town of Bor, majority-owned by Zijin since 2018.

Employers will determine if they will adopt the system

The majority of businesses are expecting a freeze on investments and a considerable drop in this year's turnover as they face a second year with the pandemic and its consequences, while instead of being viewed as a plus, most enterprises are concerned at the rise of teleworking, an ICAP survey has found.

The government will grant up to 30pct of the gross salary to companies that will hire people looking for work, Prime minister Ludovic Orban announced on Wednesday evening. "We will give up to 30pct of the gross salary to companies that will hire jobseekers, that will provide jobs to Romanian citizens who are looking for a job, for a period of at least three months.