Bulgarian Labor Protection Law

Not long ago, the Bulgarian capitalist Bill Georgiev went directly to Romania to "relocate a factory." Unfortunately, he made too much noise and ended up being detained.

Bill Georgiev was the son of the Bulgarian capitalist Evlogi Georgiev (one of the founders of Sofia University), known for being clever, sharp, and daring.

During the wave of talent poaching, Bill Georgiev did not put up recruitment signs like others, as he felt that method was too inefficient.

Upon entering Alexandria, Romania, Bill Georgiev set his sights on the Vibel Paper Mill. He bribed the local thugs and tracked down two locals working at the factory: the Nikost brothers.

"Big Brother, is what Mr. Bill Georgiev said true?" Young Nikost asked with concern.

"How would I know? But these eight hundred lei certainly aren't fake!" Old Nikost said nonchalantly.

"Sigh! Anyway, our family is already in this state. If we don't get money to pay off the debt, they'll beat us to death!" Young Nikost said helplessly.

"They won't. At most, they'll turn us into their slaves. If they beat us to death, who will pay them back?" Old Nikost said, offering comfort.

Ever since their father, Elder Nikost, fell ill three years ago, their family's life had become difficult. They were forced to take out usurious loans, and in the end, Elder Nikost still didn't pull through.

Then, the Nikost family began their journey of debt repayment, starting from the initial thirty lei to the current five hundred, even though the brothers had already paid back one hundred lei during that time.

"Forget it. As long as Mr. Bill is willing to pay, we'll do it. Anyway, that vampire Dracula isn't a good person either!" Young Nikost said viciously.

"That's right, my brother. That vampire Dracula can't wait to squeeze every last lei out of us. Making a living in Bulgaria might be a good way out," Old Nikost said with anticipation.

With their minds made up, the Nikost brothers began lobbying for Bill everywhere. Most people didn't believe them, but out of past friendship, they still agreed to meet with Bill.

Bill unleashed his silver tongue and quickly fooled a group of workers, then paid them one month's salary in advance as a deposit.

Dracula, as a qualified capitalist, was naturally a greedy vampire. It followed logically that Bill Georgiev emptied out his workforce and then secretly ran off with everyone.

If that were all, it would have been fine; as long as he ran fast enough, he would be back in Bulgaria by the time it was discovered, and no one could do anything to him.

However, having tasted the sweetness of success, how could Bill Georgiev stop after just one job? He carried forward the nature of a capitalist and started working directly as a labor broker, tricking workers from all over Romania and taking a commission for himself.

Facts proved that 19th-century capitalists were not to be trifled with. After only a few jobs, Bill was targeted. Unfortunately, he was exposed in the Caracal region and detained by local capitalists.

Relying on his silver tongue, Bill successfully saved his life, and now the other party is demanding a ransom from Evlogi Georgiev.

Worried about Bill's safety, Evlogi Georgiev found the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Metev. There was no help for it; since Metev had married Evlogi Georgiev's daughter, he had to step forward to rescue this troublemaker.

Evlogi Georgiev clearly had no intention of paying the one-million-lei ransom, and even if he wanted to, he couldn't scrape it together in such a short time.

Metev had a headache. Using personal connections, he found the other party, and the negotiations went quite smoothly. Bill's safety could be guaranteed, and his treatment was nothing to worry about, as long as the ransom was paid—not a single cent less.

In the end, Metev pulled every string, owed a mountain of favors, and paid a large sum of money before he finally got Bill out.

This marked the end of the poaching incident. From then on, capitalists from all countries raised their guard, and Bulgaria could no longer poach talent so unscrupulously.

Ferdinand's easy days also came to an end. The massive influx of population brought not only benefits to Bulgaria but also a mountain of trouble.

The crime rate soared, conflicts between locals and outsiders intensified, and capitalists began acting up again—recklessly withholding wages, leading to endless labor disputes. Some capitalists even used large numbers of foreign laborers to cut costs, laying off domestic workers, and so on.

To mediate these disputes, various government departments were dispatched one after another, leaving them exhausted. This was only mitigated by the fact that Ferdinand's own industries held a dominant position in Bulgaria and had always kept to their duties, preventing any major chaos.

Looking at the problems reported from all over, Ferdinand knew it was time to introduce a labor protection law; otherwise, if he dragged it out any longer, a working-class revolution might break out one day.

On September 18, 1890, Bulgaria's first law to handle and resolve labor disputes was enacted: the Bulgarian Labor Law.

This law was formulated by Ferdinand with reference to the labor laws of later generations and the Factory Act of the United Kingdom. To a certain extent, it favored the working class, and the severity of the penalties for labor disputes was breathtaking.

It was considered by later generations to be the first true labor protection law. The provisions clearly stipulated that working hours for heavy manual labor could not exceed ten hours, overtime pay must be provided for any excess, and there must be one day of paid leave per week.

A minimum monthly wage was also set, which could not be lower than 75 Lev (approximately 3 pounds). When broken down into an hourly wage, this figure was equivalent to the current average wage in Bulgaria.

Regarding labor disputes, if a capitalist maliciously delayed or wantonly deducted wages, they would face the penalty of having their factory confiscated, accompanied by heavy fines.

Likewise, if workers maliciously caused trouble, framed others, or engaged in extortion, they would face life imprisonment once investigated and confirmed.

All illegal acts would be severely punished. However, the law did not protect everyone; many clauses were aimed only at Bulgarian citizens.

For example, the restriction on arbitrary layoffs applied only to Bulgarian citizens. The minimum wage level was also a privilege reserved for domestic citizens.

For foreign workers, if they could speak Bulgarian, the minimum wage guarantee was only 80% of that for domestic citizens; if they could not, they only received 50% of the minimum wage protection.

This included rest days and working hours; the treatment of domestic citizens and foreign personnel was different. Furthermore, in every factory, the number of local citizens could not be lower than 60%.

It was as if the law was explicitly stating that capitalists could squeeze foreigners as much as they wanted, but should show mercy to their own people!

As soon as the Bulgarian Labor Protection Law was promulgated, public opinion was in an uproar. The mainstream naturally praised it, considering it a major step forward in Bulgaria's democratic process.

There were also some scholars who sarcastically claimed that it destroyed the capitalist free market, but apart from a few capitalists who supported it, no one else responded.

There was also a small group of "saints" who believed the government had not done enough and had not treated everyone equally, but unfortunately, their voices were too weak, and even the newspapers couldn't be bothered to publish them.