(29 Jul 2015) Thousands of Bulgarian workers staged protest rallies across the country on Wednesday against a planned electricity price hike due to hit users from 1 August.
At noon local time (0900 GMT), some 1,000 companies stopped operation for an hour to join the protest which unites workers, employers and trade unions for the first time.
Nearly 5,000 marched through downtown Sofia to government headquarters where they demanded reforms instead of the planned price hikes.
Electricity bills for industrial consumers are set to go up by nearly 20 percent, following a long dispute between the national energy regulator and businesses.
Labour unions suggested that the deficit in the energy sector should be offset by a debt issue by the state.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, whose previous government had to step down in 2013 amid protests over a steep rise in electricity bills for household consumers, has urged the independent energy watchdog to delay the increase.
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