The Bulgarian government has decided to withdraw for discussion with unions its controversial decision to cut social benefits of police force that has sparked four days of protests across the country.

The proposed articles in the 2016 budget draft relating to changes in the social benefits package of Interior Ministry employees will be witdrawn to be discussed with trade unions, Interior Minister Rumyana  Bachvarova announced on Sunday morning.

The government’s decision to start discussing with unions the controversial proposal of the Finance Ministry to cut spending on payments to Interior Ministry employees as early as next year came just hours ahead of a protest rally of police officers in Sofia planned for Sunday afternoon.

Protesters have said that they expected 3,000 to 5,000 police officers from across the country to turn out for the protest action. 

The announcement came after Bachvarova, the head of parliament’s budget committee Menda Stoyanova  and the deputy speaker of the legislature Dimitar Glavchev held an extraordinary meeting with trade union representatives of Interior Ministry employees.

The planned changes concerning the social benefits of those employees will be subject to discussion with trade unions which will begin next week, Bachvarova said.

The cuts approved by the government at the end of October as part of the draft budget for next year affect the one-off compensation paid upon retirement, additional payments pegged to the number of years in service as well as the duration of paid annual leave for Interior Ministry employees.