There is a discrepancy between the words and actions of the Ministry of Transport. This was commented by the chairman of the Port Syndicate at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria in „Varna-West“ Penka Ilieva for Iskra.bg on the occasion of a letter they sent today to the Minister Nikolay Sabev, in which they oppose the concession of “the Port of Varna“ EAD. According to her, on March 23, Deputy Transport Minister Vladimir Varbanov said that there were stable Class A investors “who talked about the concession of the two terminals”.
“It simply came to our notice then. During the meeting on February 16, at the Maritime School, Minister Sabev said that once the Master Plan is adopted and there is a position on the part of the Ministry and all stakeholders, then the fate of the Port will be considered. And suddenly, even before the Master Plan was adopted, which was not discussed at all with the workers of the Port, because Varbanov drew a dividing line between the workers of the Port and the Varna public, saying that he was appointed to protect the interests of Varna. So, what are we?” Ilieva asks.
It was announced that there will be no election of new members of the board until the Master Plan is adopted, and a competition has already been announced, Ilieva is indignant. She is adamant that there is a mismatch between action and speech, and is waiting for a response to her letter.
Asked if protests were being considered, Ilieva said there would be protests, as well as the closure of the port.
The chairman of the Port Confederation of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria in the port also raised the case of the dangerous road to the port terminal „Varna-West“, for which they have repeatedly protested that it needs to be repaired:
“Currently, the Ministry of Transport is lying. It is not good to use such a strong word, but they are lying. Minister Sabev lied that the mayor of Devnya was collecting fees for our ruined road, and such fees are not collected. They are only collected for oversized cargo and this is BGN 15 per case and this is 2/3 times a year.”
