/ world today news/ For a salary of BGN 500, I will not burn for 12 hours in the kitchen, says an overworked worker.
Students can save the tourist season at sea, where there is a huge need for personnel. It may repeat the situation of a few years ago, when hoteliers and restaurateurs filled the missing staff with children. This was commented by the director of the regional Labor Inspection in Dobrich, Mladen Martinov. According to the department’s data, in the last 3-4 years, the employment of minors has been decreasing. Last year, our directorate issued 200 work permits, and the children were mainly employed as waiters in restaurants and sellers in commercial establishments, said Martynov.
The job sites are full of job postings for our seaside resorts. “Over 2,000 people are needed for the Dobruja Black Sea coast alone for the season. We have exhausted the possibilities of the labor offices. We insist on having more vocational schools, because secondary schools produce people without a trade,” said the chairman of the regional branch structure of hoteliers and restaurateurs for the North-East Bulgaria Dimitar Dimitrov.
Importing labor is the industry’s last hope. The Tourist Chamber has already made contacts with students from Russia and Ukraine and is currently actively negotiating. If foreign students tend to come for seasonal work, the problem will be temporarily solved. However, there are administrative obstacles to hiring them, as students receive tourist visas. They cannot work legally with them, and if they are hired “on the black”, they face a fine of BGN 20,000. That is why the rector of the International College (VUMK) Assoc. Todor Radev called on the state to urgently introduce 6-month work visas for students from third countries who wish to intern at our seaside resorts.
Our hoteliers also rely on labor from Moldova and Romania. In our northern neighbor, however, the standard is higher, and so is the pay, and the Romanians did not like the Bulgarian salaries.
The tourism industry is demanding that the state intervene and help them solve the staffing problem. However, the workers have a different opinion. “There is nothing for them to ask for state policy. This is a private case in the labor market. Hoteliers, instead of complaining to the media, should raise their salaries.
I am offered BGN 500 salary to work in a kitchen. On the sea during the season, they work without rest for 12-14 hours a day. And the work in the kitchen is hard – all day you burn from the heat over the stoves and on your feet. The salary is miserable, these 500 BGN are taken from only 1 tourist who came for a week. Because they don’t want to pay, to work in the kitchens and clean their rooms themselves,” says 52-year-old Denka Tsankova, who also doesn’t want to work for such a low salary.
Germany took our chefs
There will again be a shortage of cooks by the sea in the coming season, the Labor Bureau in Varna warned at the meeting of the Public Tourism Council. There have been two campaigns to recruit seasonal workers in Germany and our top chefs have gone there. The starting salary of 2000-2500 euros and above is a serious temptation for them. A serious shortage of assistant cooks is also looming. There was a McDonald’s campaign, but they are looking for workers to fry potatoes. At the same time, boutique restaurants by the sea pay over 2 grand for chefs who have mastered the secrets of Mediterranean, Indian, Arabic and Russian cuisine. Heads of luxury restaurants are looking for gourmet masters early to guarantee VIP clientele for the summer. Local restaurateurs are also in feverish search for sushi chefs for the new summer season. Good salaries are offered to the masters who master the intricacies of Japanese cuisine – the preparation of sushi rolls, the unique soy sauce and interesting dishes even with the poisonous Fugo fish.
Waitresses and bartenders flee to Greece
They give 500-600 BGN per month at the reception desk in 4-star hotels. Piccolo will take BGN 400-450 this summer, as well as a maid. But on the Greek islands they give 700 euros for this position and trained maids flee there. In some hotels they will force themselves on this low salary to take women without experience. Waiters earn BGN 450 per month, not including tips. But if they are in all-inclusive restaurants, only the free meal remains. Many waiters are wanted for Germany, Austria, England, Spain and Italy, with salaries starting at 550-650 euros.
Good bartenders also flee to Germany and Greece, where they start with a starting salary of 1,500 euros and earn between 50-100 euros a day. With us, for working 28 days a month, the remuneration is BGN 900, said the chairman of the Association of Bulgarian Bartenders and Guinness record holder Pencho Penchev.
German, Russian and Romanian for the animators
In our country, animators are paid more expensively than waiters – with 200 BGN on top. But for them, the bar is high – they must be intelligent, funny and artistic, speak English, but in combination with German or Russian. And knowing Romanian is a big advantage. With the bonuses, the animators can take a salary of BGN 1,000 each, especially in July and August. Prestigious chains and 5-star hotels compete in the search for hostesses. A beautiful girl waiting for the guests with a radiant smile, radiating charm and intelligence, guiding the tourists to the desired exact place is what the aerobatics in the industry want to have in the service. The mandatory condition is the command of three languages - English, Russian and German. Salaries are not high – 600-650 BGN, but tips are mandatory.
They are preparing a new regulation for the sandbars
The state will serve beaches that have no owners. The project is a pilot project for this year, announced the regional governor of Dobrich, Nedko Marchev. The decision was taken at a meeting in the regional ministry with experts and the governors of the three maritime regions – Dobrich, Varna and Burgas. “At the moment, information is being collected from the municipalities. There are several criteria for determining which of the beaches without owners will be provided with medical and water rescue by the state, among which is attendance,” Marchev explained. He added that this year contracts for beaches are being renewed after a procedure where the management terms have expired, but the difference is that the beach strips are given for only one year. “The reason for the short term is the new regulations that are being prepared in this direction. A commission is to be formed, which will have the task of carrying out a complete survey of the beaches by the fall, preparing cadastral maps, and accurately determining the physical parameters of the sandbars,” said the good governor of Dobrica. Beaches that are unowned are marked with signs as unguarded. There are a total of 35 beaches on the territory of the Dobrich region, of which 18 are without owners. Half of the unprotected strips are on the territory of Shabla municipality.
A drama about lifeguards on the beaches
The concessionaires of the beaches are tight for lifeguards just days before the start of the season. The situation in Sunny Beach is under control, but there are no candidates for the smaller beaches. The strip in the Burgas district “Kraimorie” is one of many that hangs in the balance. The concessionaire, Dimo Pavlov, admits that it is impossible to provide the necessary number of lifeguards by June 1, when the beach should already be open and with security. The salaries of the rescuers vary between 600 and 800 BGN, they are necessarily provided with accommodation and food. Every year ketap receives nearly a hundred new trained personnel, but most of them flee abroad for 5 times higher wages.
“With us, the remuneration rarely reaches BGN 1,000, while abroad they take double and triple more,” says the chairman of the regional council of the BRC in Dobrich, Dr. Artyun Erinozov. He explains that the work of the lifeguard is hard – they are on the beach or by the pool from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are the people who provide first aid not only in the event of an accident in the water, but also on the shore.
Tourists who are used to discipline and order in their countries do not underestimate their work. But those who come to get drunk and show off that they have more money underestimate her. Last year there were over 4,000 rescue actions at sea alone. In other words, these are 4,000 tourists who survived as a result of the intervention of rescuers,” says Assoc. Stoyan Andonov, chairman of the National Commission for Water Rescue, lecturer at the NSA and member of the BCK National Assembly.
Looking for tattoo artists and braiders
Temporary and permanent tattoo artists, braiders and restaurant bellmen are among the offers that promise a relatively good salary at sea. The artists receive over 800 BGN, a percentage of the turnover, and they have accommodation provided. The “secret client” profession, which has been gaining momentum in recent years, is also among the advertisements, and not only by sea. The job of the secret customer is to monitor the quality of service and the fulfillment of certain corporate standards in commercial establishments according to predefined scenarios. Acting is a must for this position. Callers are looking for communicative, funny, friendly and multi-lingual young guys and girls who can convince tourists to enter the restaurants.
At first glance, the work seems easy, but it is not at all. On the classifieds sites, the proposals for remuneration of callers are from BGN 500 to BGN 2,000 per month – a fixed salary plus a percentage of the turnover for each client. Compared to the average salary of BGN 400-500 in most hotels and restaurants, the advertisement for a pager easily attracts the attention of unemployed students and schoolchildren.
300 euro fine for balconing
Hoteliers want harsh punishments for all tourists who jump from their balconies. This strange fashion, which appeared 3-4 years ago in Sunny Beach, has already claimed more than ten human lives. “The only way to stop the deadly jumps is salt fines. But they must be introduced by the municipalities or the state,” announced the owners’ union in Sunny Beach. According to the hoteliers, 300 euros will have a deterrent effect on anyone who decided to play Batman. However, the main characters in the balcony are drunk or drugged tourists. So it’s doubtful that salt fines can stop them.
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