At the beginning of the year, a new Collective Labour Agreement was signed at Kozloduy NPP, according to which each employee is entitled to 32 leva per meal per day actually worked. However, instead of receiving the full amount, as was the case until the end of 2024, BGN 22 per day is loaded into electronic cards that can only be used in a limited number of canteens and their stands on the territory of the plant and in the city of Kozloduy, which are given to one particular company.
“This seemingly administrative change has caused serious discontent among employees. The new rules benefit businessmen with solid political connections in the energy sector, including those sanctioned for corruption by the US. In practice, this creates a monopoly situation in which these businesses have a guaranteed annual turnover of more than BGN 20 000 000 and a solid commercial markup paid by the 3 600 employees of Kozloduy NPP. It is also interesting what happens to the unspent funds. Instead of being carried over to the next month, they are simply “burned”, which once again guarantees a stable and constant monthly and annual turnover for the company in question,“ said Yordan Todorov from ”Revival“.
For comparison, a large shop of the largest retail chains realizes in the conditions of strong competition between 10 and 15 million BGN annual turnover, but with much higher running costs, maintenance costs, staff, logistics, the need for significant initial and follow-up investments, etc.
In this case, the company in question took over the sites of Kozloduy NPP after a major renovation and both the dining areas and the food preparation areas were completely re-equipped. No initial or follow-up investment was necessary and, at the same time, no rent was provided for the use of the premises, which is a common practice in plants in Western European countries. However, not only do the goods they sell have a commercial markup, but the company also receives a fee from Kozloduy NPP of BGN 525 000 per month. Essentially, the payment of a fee for the service provided, plus the possibility of a commercial mark-up, especially in the absence of any obligation or need for investment or even rent for the premises used, appear to be double subsidising the commercial activities of the selected company in question.
“In stark contrast to all of this, many other large employers in the country, including the nearby State Enterprise Radioactive Waste, which falls under the same activity-specific legal and regulatory provisions as Kozloduy NPP, provide their employees with food vouchers that can be used in a wide network of shops and restaurants,” Todorov further commented.
“Through the signal submitted by ‘Revival’ we insist on carrying out checks for possible evidence of violations related to agreements, decisions and concerted practices, abuse of monopoly or dominant position, unfair competition and prohibited commercial practices or other violations of the Law on Protection of Competition, through which the interests of NPP Kozloduy or its employees and workers have been harmed,” Todorov further stressed.
