February 11, 2003
Mr. Plamen Dimitrov, Vice-Chairman, Confederation
of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria
Ladies and gentlemen! Some of you may be wondering
why the trade unions are participating in this discussion. Let me
start by saying that the two representative trade unions in
Bulgaria have been part of Coalition 2000 and have
participated in the Steering Committee ever since the Coalition was
created. It's another matter how useful we have been and what
potential we have as trade unions. Let me share a few remarks in
this respect.
The slight improvement of the corruption situation
noted in the 2002 Report of Coalition 2000 should not
reassure us because opportunities for corruption still exist in a
number of areas of special interest to the trade unions and to our
members.
Reading the analysis we can't help noticing the
extreme tenacity of corruption in this country. Regardless of any
drop in the percentages and the rate of decline registered, this
does appear to be a valid conclusion in our opinion. Corruption
manages to transform itself and adjust to any conditions and thus
undermines and discredits genuine and worthy initiatives and
measures and all kinds of undertakings intended to fight it.
Let me cite a few examples from the report. Such
widely used instruments throughout Europe, such as the protective
import duties or subsidies for agricultural producers, in this
country tend to increase the rate of corruption and actually
encourage it. In this respect it is admittedly arguable to what
extent these are market tools but the fact is that they are used in
Europe and the world. In Bulgaria, however, as noted in the report,
they prove to stimulate corruption.
The report quite clearly shows both perspectives on
the problem, as already noted by the previous speakers. What
transpires from the intervention of the judiciary in the
privatization of Bulgartabak and BTC is political dependence and
corruption. And conversely, the amendments to the Law on
Privatization and Post-privatization Control, including those
limiting the powers of the judiciary, are also suggestive of
possible private sources of corruption. Paradoxes, which - viewed
from two different angles - ultimately do not reduce
corruption.
The healthcare reform has not been mentioned so far,
yet it is highlighted in the report and we find it particularly
alarming. The manner in which this reform has been implemented
clearly creates the opportunity for another 250 million to leave
the hands of ordinary Bulgarians and enter the healthcare system by
unregulated channels, or in other words, through corrupt practices
- something that cannot, and should not, go on.
When Ludwig Ehrhardt set at the basis of the German
market economy the well-known triangle: competition-currency
system-social order, he also established a fundamental, though not
the most important, rule: special efforts to ensure high social and
material status to non-market labor - public administration, tax
officials, police, court officials, etc. In fact, those who
actually maintain the effective operation of the system. And while
we can't say our civil servants are at the very social bottom,
neither is the work of some of them, and possibly all of them, duly
valued. We do, however, agree with the conclusion in the report,
that they are ranked first by public opinion in terms of
corruption. And that is why there are many who say, not quite
without reason, that we neither have a market economy, nor a social
state, as stipulated in the Constitution. And it will be this way
as long as non-market labor continues to find its way into the
market, creating forms of distorted market relations and corrupt
practices. Corruption is like a cancer holding our society in its
clutches and this not only undermines the moral and democratic
values of which we all speak and which we have been fostering in
the past 12-13 years, but also impedes economic development.
I would like to mention two more things that I deem
important. In this context the trade unions and the employers
actually play a very serious role. The trade unions are involved in
structures such as Coalition 2000 not only in Bulgaria. The
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the world
labor movement are in fact part of the anti-corruption network of
OЕCD, with active positions in many different democracies in the
region. We deeply believe that the fight against corruption calls
for concerted efforts and cannot be confined to activities of the
government, of the legislative and judiciary branches of power.
Clearly, the non-governmental organizations, and not just those we
already mentioned today, in the area of law and law enforcement,
but also those representing labor and social rights, those
safeguarding the everyday life of citizens and which give them, or
fail to give them, the opportunity to get involved in the fight
against corruption, need to be a part of this movement, of this
process.
We fully adhere to the conclusion made in the report
about the failure to make effective use of the potential of
public-private partnership owing to the reluctance or inability of
state institutions to open up to civil society and seek broader
support for their policies.
Next, and extremely important in our opinion, is the
involvement of the civic sector and the trade unions, including the
employers, in civic control and monitoring of the EU pre-accession
funds - something that hasn't been mentioned here today, and which
is not commented in the report either. We, the employers and the
trade unions, have expressed our readiness to start negotiations
with the Cabinet and are expecting the reply of Mr.
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to see whether this year he will find the right
formula for our participation in civic control and monitoring. Not
only we, but perhaps the local authorities and other organizations
and institutions need to be included, too - this would help make
sure that the funding from the European Union would not be diverted
or used to other ends. I leave aside the matter of the rate of
appropriation.
Another factor that we deem critical and which has been noted in
the report is the share of the hidden economy, which is generating
corrupt practices. It is true that two extremely important
initiatives have started this year with the support of the trade
unions. We firmly support the registration of the employment
contracts with the National Insurance Institute and the
introduction of a minimum social security contribution for the
different categories of occupations and positions held. This year
the employers and the unions will have to negotiate the amount of
these minimum contributions and the minimum working salaries and
wages. This is necessary in order to avoid another upsurge of the
gray sector as feared, according to the report, by the colleagues
from Coalition 2000. In other words, through genuine
negotiations, which hopefully will take place in the course of the
current year, we'll make a contribution towards minimizing corrupt
practices.
The symbiosis between corruption and trafficking is
something that hasn't been commented but in the past years the
trade unions have constantly been present at the customs offices
and the checkpoints, voicing their concern and urging the
government to deal with the illegal imports and trafficking that
are crushing Bulgarian producers. We all know where the problems
are - consumer goods and foodstuffs, but not only. Corrupt
practices do not seem to have become part of everyone's agenda
because apparently the automated system still isn't functioning in
customs. The twelve subsystems that were supposed to be introduced
from the beginning of the current year are once again put on hold.
Let's hope it will happen by the end of the year. And please feel
free to correct me if I'm wrong.
In conclusion I would just like to say that the
existence of union organizations in the enterprises (both private
and public) - something that everyone can view from a different
angle - certainly contributes towards limiting corruption and
towards greater transparency in the activity of non-governmental
organizations. The Confederation of Independent Syndicates in
Bulgaria declares its readiness to partner both with Coalition
2000, of which it is part, and with public administration in
the current and the coming years. I hope we will be ever more
active and effective in our efforts to fight corruption, which is a
bane not only for Bulgaria.
|