The plan to lay off 2 000 employees of the State Railways BDZ and to cancel 150 trains is too much of a shock therapy, according to the Chair of the KNSB trade union, Plamen Dimitrov.

Dimitrov commented Saturday on the plans for reforms in BDZ, which also include raising ticket prices, and stated the trade unions are going to debate next week how to react to the move.

Late Friday, Petar Bunev, Head of the Railroad Workers Union at the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates (KNSB) declared possibility of effective mass strike.

On Saturday, Dimitrov, speaking for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, stated the dismissal of 2 000 workers by the end of the year; cancelling so many trains, and upping ticket price by 9% is both unfeasible and too big of a bite for the trade unions to swallow.

He admitted that BDZ are in shambles – economically, socially, and financially, and pointed out canceling 150 trains must be revised and aligned with the opinion of local mayors-elect.

According to Dimitrov, budget 2012 "freezes the country with all negatives and wide-spread poverty."

"We continue to patch holes. I demand BGN 21 M for social homes for the disabled, the elderly and children, and increased wages for social workers. The budget 2012 has hidden reserves in the revenue part – BGN 300 M to 500 M, which are concealed on purpose, in order to reach and exceed planned revenues," Dimitrov insists.