2024-04-26 00:56:31
Unexpectedly, on the penultimate working day of this parliament, the deputies showed that they can respond adequately to the needs of business.
Exactly 6 days ago – on April 19, the Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev met with representatives of all organizations from the industry. According to him, then they did not ask for money, but for assistance in adopting a small but important amendment to the law on foreigners. According to her, the three-month visas issued to workers from third countries will be able to be extended in Bulgaria. This will ensure that hoteliers will not run out of staff in the middle of the season.
Miloshev turned to the deputies and asked them to accept the change quickly. And he added that this would be a gesture towards business. They heard it – on Thursday, the text was voted on in both the first and second readings, coming into force on Monday. 129 people’s representatives voted “for”, only 29 – “against”, none abstained.
If they had not accepted the amendment, the hoteliers were faced with the following situation – the hired foreigners from third countries, who are cooks, waiters, maids and others, come to us at the beginning of May. And right at the height of the season – in July, they have to leave, because in order to renew their visas, they are required to return to the country they came from.
Things like health insurance status for these people are also being settled.
On Thursday in Sunny Beach, Miloshev said that tourism is struggling for workers from third countries because there are not enough people here who want to work in the sector. “The good news is that for another year there will be an increase in remuneration – by 20%”, added the minister.
The problem with the shots on the sea has been raised many times. Last year, at a forum in Burgas, organized by BTA, it was stated that some of the Ukrainian refugees in our country already work in the tourism industry.
Now Evtim Miloshev will have to solve another problem for the upcoming summer season – the one with the lifeguards on the beaches. On April 7, a new regulation was adopted for water rescue activities. It contains many requirements for which the industry is not yet ready, explained the minister.
“The request of the sector is, if possible, to delay the implementation of this regulation until the end of the year. Of course, this will create a legal case because it is accepted and the previous one no longer has effect. I will discuss the topic with the Minister of Health Galya Kondeva”, Miloshev added.
He expects a 15 percent increase in tourists this summer, with Armenia, Kosovo and Uzbekistan being the new markets from which visitors to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are expected. For British tourists, there would be an increase of 15-20 percent. Because of the war in the Middle East, it was expected that Israelis would not come to Bulgaria, but in the end we already have reservations, Miloshev added.
Evtim Miloshev: This is not my success, but civil society’s
– Mr. Miloshev, how did it happen that changes to a law that will facilitate tourism in our country were adopted so quickly?
– It is very important to first say that this is not my success, but civil society’s, because the people who work in tourism needed this change in the current law. And the people’s representative, which represents their interests, accepted it and made it super extreme in the context of the need for the coming summer tourist season, which represents 70% of tourism in Bulgaria.
– Do these changes apply to the current season, or will they be for the next one?
– The law has immediate effect, so it will work already this tourist season.
This topic has two aspects. One is that our consulates in third countries are running slowly because they don’t have the capacity because they haven’t had that kind of traffic over the years. I am talking about our consulates in Delhi, India and in Kazakhstan. Therefore, I spoke to the Foreign Ministry and the Consular Department, who undertook to send additional staff.
That’s part of the problem. The other is with the work visas of foreigners in our country. Since March, the National Assembly has had a Law amending and supplementing the Law on Foreigners in Bulgaria. It touches on a lot of things, there are over 60 paragraphs.
– How did you manage to move it in less than a week?
– What happened is that I spoke first with the chairman of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov, who was removed today, then with Radomir Cholakov from the legal committee, with Manoil Manev, chairman of the national security committee? This commission is in charge of this law.
With parliament winding down this week and the bill not yet out of committee, it seemed like a crazy idea.
But in the end with these conversations, maybe because I’m not part of this system, I’m more of an outsider – until two weeks ago I was on the employers’ side, and I said to myself: Let’s try, this is very important for the sector, for the business. And they understood it, but said that things don’t happen that way.
On Saturday and Sunday, the associations wrote a letter saying that this is a very pressing issue and they are asking the parliament to accept it. Eventually, the magic happened. Removed those two paragraphs that refer to the 90-day visa. Currently, after 90 days when the work visa expires, the foreign worker from the third country must go to the place where it was issued to have it renewed and return. And from today, a worker who came from India or Nepal or Bangladesh can be renewed here on the spot, after the 90th day he can be renewed here and he can stay, because the season is not 90 days .
The other is for a D visa, which is for 9 months. Upon its issuance, conditions that facilitate its issuance are removed, and after its expiration, workers may stay in the country on another basis, which was not possible until now.
These are indeed exceptional facilities in respect of third-party seasonal workers.
– How come the changes were accepted in both the first and second reading?
– They did it in one day. On Tuesday, the committee on national security met in an emergency, where they voted unanimously. On Wednesday, the committee on tourism unanimously voted for it. Today it entered the plenary hall, passed the first reading, and then Mr. Manev, the chairman of the security committee, proposed that due to the urgency and importance of the topic, it should also go to the second reading under Art. 77 of the constitution. Deputies voted in favor, the changes passed the second reading and the law was adopted.
All this from Friday to today. That’s why I say that this is the clearest example of us being a civil society. Because the citizens needed this thing. They wrote the declaration on Saturday and Sunday, entered it on Monday, and the people’s representative responded to their request.
This is a big sign that this may be the way things are going.
– As we speak, you are traveling. For where?
– I am entering Varna. In the morning I had a meeting with the mayors of the Southern Black Sea coast plus all the regulatory services – RZI, RIOS, RDNSK, police, to see the readiness. And in the afternoon in Sunny Beach, I had a meeting with hoteliers, restaurateurs – a huge meeting, where they talked about their problems, what was bothering them. And while we were talking, I told them that the law is now entering the plenary chamber. And we were all very happy.
This won’t solve the problems, but it will help a lot. Because it’s been a problem for years. First of all, it is dictated by the fact that there is not enough Bulgarian labor. Second, it is because we have a demographic problem in the state. But since we are in this situation, the only option is to import labor. In neighboring countries, it is already too expensive to meet the needs of our market. That is why we are already importing labor from third countries from the Middle East – Tajikistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh. The market needs this thing. So many MPs called me to congratulate me because of the enthusiasm. And the magic happened maybe because I’m not a system player. New goals – the regulation on water rescue activities. The next very big task.