MPs snub full maternity pay, young families left out

Bulgarian lawmakers rejected proposed amendments that would have authorized full compensation during the second year of parental leave after more than an hour of parliamentary discussion on Tuesday. The measure received 84 affirmative votes against 14 opposed, while 97 members abstained from the decision.

Venko Sabrutev, a legislator representing PP-DB who helped draft the Social Security Code revisions, requested a second vote and challenged members of BSP-United Left to demonstrate their progressive credentials. He characterized the policy as generating benefits for families raising young children rather than creating budget costs. Parliament again declined to pass the legislation despite his appeal. The proposal would have enabled mothers returning to employment by choice to collect their complete maternity payments. Sabrutev criticized GERB for neglecting families with children and accused other factions of retaining funds that should support parents.

Tensions escalated between multiple party blocs during the floor debate. Georgi Ivanov from Vazrazhdane suggested colleagues were exploiting family policy for electoral advantage. Tsvetan Predov of There Is Such a People questioned why PP-DB had not pursued maternity expansion during earlier legislative sessions. Vladimir Georgiev of BSP-United Left described Sabrutev’s conduct as showing disrespect toward fellow representatives.