The Labour Inspectorate, established by a Decree of Prince Ferdinand on 3.11.1907, is the predecessor of today's Labour Inspectorate in Bulgaria. According to Prince Ferdinand's Decree, the Labour Inspectorate was established to "enforce the laws, rules and regulations on industry, trade, crafts and the protection of workers".
The first Bulgarian law in occupational safety and work hygiene was adopted in 1917. The control was assigned to the Labour Inspectorate at the Ministry of Agriculture and Trade. The law had a very long life; it was repealed only in 1951 when the Labour Code was adopted - a collection of legal acts regulating the labour relations in the Republic of Bulgaria to this day.
In 1949, Bulgaria ratified the International Labour Organization's Labour Inspection Convention 81 of 1947. Thus, at the time of the ratification, the Bulgarian state already had an established tradition in workplace inspections.
In 1951, the control functions of occupational safety and health were delegated to a public organisation - the Bulgarian Trade Unions and the control structure was incorporated into the trade unions structure.
In 1991 the State Labour Inspectorate was established under the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. In 1992, with the Law Amending and Supplementing the Labour Code, the state regained its occupational health and safety control functions. The control was entrusted to the State Labour Inspectorate, which was transformed into the General Labour Inspectorate in the same year, later, in 2000 - into the "General Labour Inspectorate" Executive Agency (GLI EA) under the Minister of Labour and Social Policy.
Labour Inspection – Key Dates:
1907 - Law on the Labour Inspectorate in Bulgaria - approved by Decree № 182 of Prince Ferdinand I, dated 03.11.1907.
1917 - Law on Hygiene and Safety at Work - approved by Decree № 25 of Prince Ferdinand I, dated 01.06.1917.
1951 - Labour Code - repeals the 1917 Law on Occupational Hygiene and Safety. In article 4, trade unions were given the right to establish occupational safety inspectorates.
1951 - Closure of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.
1966 - Law on Labour Safety Supervision Inspectorate at the Council of Ministers.
1973 - Law on Granting the Bulgarian Trade Unions the Control over Labour Protection.
1986 - New Labour Code. According to Art. 399 (1), trade unions exercise the overall control on the compliance with labour legislation in all sectors and activities.
1991 - The State Labour Inspectorate was established under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare by Decree of the Council of Ministers № 193 of 02.10.1991.
1992 - Law Amending and Supplementing the Labour Code. With a change in Article 399, the state restores its control over compliance with labour legislation.
1992 - Transformation of the State Labour Inspectorate into the General Labour Inspectorate by Decree of the Council of Ministers № 270 of 30.12.1992.
2000 - Transformation of the General Labour Inspectorate into the "General Labour Inspectorate" Executive Agency by Decree of the Council of Ministers № 92 of 26.05.2000.
2002 - "General Labour Inspectorate" Executive Agency is assigned to exercise specialised control on employment promotion by Decree № 35 of the Council of Ministers amending and supplementing the GLI EA Statutes.
2003 - GLI EA is assigned to exercise the specialised control on compliance with the legislation related to the civil service (control is carried out by state inspectors).
2006 - Transfer of the specialised control activity on the compliance with the legislation related to the civil service from GLI EA to the Ministry of State Administration.
2010 - Assignment of the specialised control activity on compliance with the legislation related to the performance of the civil service and the obligations of the parties to the civil service employment relationship to the "General Labour Inspectorate" Executive Agency.