Bulgaria Minister: 400 000 Employed in Gray Economy

Minister of Labor and Social Works, Totyu Mladenov, announced this Monday during a special inspection of a pizza restaurant in downtown Sofia

Between 300 000 and 400 000 Bulgarians are employed in the country's gray economy.

Minister of Labor and Social Works, Totyu Mladenov, announced this Monday during a special inspection of a pizza restaurant in downtown Sofia.

The inspection was made after a citizen's warning.

According to the manager of the restaurant all of the employees of the restaurant have signed contracts for BGN 360 a month. However, the employees claim that they get BGN 600.

If some irregularities are established, the employers may be fined with BGN 15 000.

Nearly BGN 5,5 M have been collected by the General Labor Inspectorate (GLI) from fines in the first seven months of the year, GLI's Secretary General, Rumyana Mihaylova, announced.

In that period, more than 600 people have been established to work without signed contacts.