12.3.2007

Bulgaria Seeks Workers Outside the EU

The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) is in search of qualified workers from countries outside the European Union to put them in touch with employers in Bulgaria.

On February 28, BIA said on its website that there were opportunities to attract qualified labour from Macedonia, Albania, Moldova, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Bulgarian employers wanting such workers were asked to complete a registration form available on the BIA website.

BIA will check the eligibility of the foreign workers and their qualifications and will offer employers a choice of several alternatives, BIA said. After these checks are done, state institutions in charge of national security will screen the potential employees. Hiring will take place in compliance with Bulgarian law. For the time being, BIA is offering the service free of charge.

The Sofia Echo spoke to Vesselin Iliev, chief expert, international economic relations, at BIA.
“First I want to make one thing clear: BIA is not going to be a middle man between Bulgarian employers and foreign labour-force organisations. We are only conducting a survey among Bulgarian employers about their need for qualified workers and in which sectors the need is most urgent. We believe that there is a great need in

Bulgaria’s IT sector.” Engineers and specialists in the industrial and heavy machinery sectors were needed as well, he said.

“We can direct employers to a certain foreign labour market depending on the employer’s needs, but nothing more,” Iliev said.

He declined to say how BIA was compiling its database of foreign workers. “This is our know-how and I cannot reveal it,” he said.

However Iliev did not deny that BIA was in touch with similar organisations in other countries.

Current law says that foreign workers may not make up more than 10 per cent of the staff of a Bulgarian employer. A Bulgarian employer wanting to hire a foreign specialist can do so only when the position has been offered to a Bulgarian candidate first. If no Bulgarian applies for the job, the employer must apply for permission from the National Employment Agency, pay a fee and then hire the foreigner.

As The Sofia Echo reported last November, BIA has written to Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev proposing that Bulgaria introduce a “green-card” system for foreigners in occupations where there was a labour shortage. BIA said that the Labour Ministry should introduce employment quotas for foreigners because the 10 per cent limit was not appropriate.

Asked whether the BIA survey was aimed at changing this situation, Iliev said that after the survey was completed, and depending on its results and employers’ preferences and needs, BIA would send a new letter to Stanishev.

“This might happen at the end of the current year,” Iliev said.

He said that the level of salaries paid in Bulgaria was not a problem in attracting skilled foreign workers.

“Salary is one thing and productivity is another. I think that proportionately, when you see the level of salaries and the level of productivity in Bulgaria, workers are not receiving low salaries compared to other EU countries. It is productivity that we need to increase. Salaries will go up when this is achieved,” Iliev said.

As for concerns, as expressed especially in UK media, about a potential risk that workers from non-EU countries might use Bulgaria as a bridge to wealthier EU countries, Iliev said he did not share these concerns. “According to the law, a worker from a non-EU country can work in Bulgaria with a temporary work permit, temporary labour contracts and temporary visas. For me, this is enough to end all speculation that Bulgaria might turn into a means for non-EU nationals to enter the EU labour market without control,” Iliev said.

Asked whether Bulgarians might see foreign workers as a threat to their jobs, Iliev said: “I do not agree. We are talking about attracting only skilled and highly qualified workers from abroad. There is a great shortage in this regard, and I do not think that Bulgarians should be particularly worried. Bulgaria has experience in attracting foreign workers. From 1980 to 1989, the then-communist Bulgaria, following a state agreement with Vietnam, gave work to thousands of Vietnamese. The difference is that in the 1980s these Vietnamese were coming to Bulgaria without any experience and getting pay lower than that of Bulgarians. The Vietnamese were employed in the heavy machinery and construction sectors after receiving brief qualification courses.”