The research work of the institute is organised on the basis of annual programmes (approved by CITUB) including basic modules as follows:

1) Social and economic reforms and developments

2) Labour market

3) Industrial relations, globalisation and European integration

4) Working conditions and workplace issues

5) Development and policy of trade unions

6) International projects

There are two research teams at the ISTUR: one is dealing with industrial relations, globalisation and European integration, trade union development and policies, while the other one is focusing on social and economic policy, incomes, living standards and the labour market.

Work programme 2010

1. Incomes, living standards and social policy:

Living standards, children’s’ cost of living, poverty threshold – survey, press conference and living standards and working conditions bulletin - quarterly

Wage formation in enterprises and organisations in the conditions of global competition (transitional from 2009)

Statistical data base of main microeconomic indicators for economic, social and demographic development of Bulgaria, Annual Bulletin

2. Labour market

Bulgarian labour market and early warning – quarterly reports

Migration processes and innovation policies of employment at the background of an integrated European labour market

3. Industrial relations and European integration

INFORMIA. Information and Consultation of Employees and Workers in Bulgaria - project funded by EC, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities (Ref. No: VS/2010/0145) Partners: Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, ISTUR, Bulgarian Industrial Association, IRES –Italy, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Union of Autonomous Trade Unions of Croatia, Les Mondes du Travail- France European Commission –Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG, Budget Heading 04.03.03.03

Directives on information and consultation in Bulgaria

Corporate social responsibility – challenges towards the social dialogue and collective bargaining

Social dialogue and collective bargaining in the EU – trends, comparative analysis and best practices

Development of the independent trade unionism and industrial relations – the challenges of transition

Better solutions: social dialogue and collective bargaining in the EU in response to the crisis. Review of policies and practice

Quarterly E-Bulletin ‘Social Europe'

4. Working conditions and workplace issues

HSE Health - safety and environment in the work place 2009-2011 - project supported by a grant from Norway through the Norwegian Cooperation Programme for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development with Bulgaria. Partners: CITUB, ISTUR. LO-Norway and FAFO- Norway,

5. Security through the law, flexibility through the collective bargaining. Project of CITUB under the Human resource development operational programme

6. Chronology and history of CITUB

CITUB - events, facts, chronology

7. Resource centre

Regular publications in the area of reforms, industrial relations & European integration: Social Europe, Quarterly bulletin, since 1998 (in Bulgarian); Living Standards, Quarterly bulletin since 1990 - 2007, and renewed in 2010 under the title ‘Living standards and working conditions (in Bulgarian and in English); Quarterly press conferences and press releases on the results of living standards surveys – more information here ; regular publications in the monthly edition of the magazine “Sindi trud” of the Confederation of the Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (in Bulgarian); in briefs, comparative studies, thematic features and annual updates for the European Foundation - Dublin;

Other publications:

1. Tomev, L. N. Daskalova, T. Mihailova, E. Ribarova and V. Ivanova (2007), Bulgaria in the benchmarks of Labour Europe. ISTUR, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, also E-publication (in Bulgarian)

2. Tomev, L. and Nadezhda Daskalova (2007), Multinational companies in Bulgaria: Impact on labour and social development. In: Trade union responses to globalization. A review by the Global Union Research Network, Ed. Verena Schmidt, ILO, Geneva

3. Mihailova, T. (2007), CITUB. Chronology: Events, positions, statements, documents 2001-2007. CITUB (in Bulgarian)

4. Tomev, L., N. Daskalova, T. Mihailova and V. Ivanova (2008), Wages and collective bargaining in Bulgaria. In South East Europe Review, Issue 2, also E-publication

5.Daskalova, N., L.Tomev, E. Ribarova, V. Ivanova, T. Mhailova, E. Markova and A. Nikolova (2008), Multinational companies – 2008: European dimensions of industrial relations, ISTUR, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, also E-publication (in Bulgarian)

6. Ribarova, E. and V. Mikova (2008), The Chart of the main rights of the European Union – which labour and social rights it provides? CITUB, Fridriech Ebert Foundation, 2008, also E-publication

7. Tomev, L. N. Daskalova and D. Kircheva (2008), Employees’ financial participation – the European experience and possibilities for negotiating flexible financial participation schemes in the Bulgarian enterprises. ISTUR, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, also E-publication (in Bulgarian)

8. Minev, D., L. Tomev and Dr.Draganov (2008), Social Inclusion – Policy Priorities for Bulgaria, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, (in Bulgarian and in English), also E-publication

9. Tomev, L. (2008), Millennium development goals - 2008, Chapter 1. Eradicate poverty, UNDP, also E-publication

10. Ribarova, E. Institutional context of workers’ participation in Bulgaria-which way after joining the EU. In: European Workplace Participation Forum: New ways to effective forms of workers’ participation. Fondazione Instituto per il Lavoro, Bologna, ETUI, Fridrich Ebert Foundation, 24-26 September, 2008 Rome, Italy (forthcoming publication|)

11. Ribarova, E. (2008), The workforce involvement in the labour market in Bulgaria: which is the way after the accession to the EU? In: Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, ed. by R. Blanpen, M. Tiraboschi. Kluwer International, Netherlands

12. Ivanova, V., Y. Simeonova et al. (2008), Cost and benefits of work-life balancing in Europe. What are the challenges for the social partners (In the framework of the project BILANCIA implemented with the financial support of DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities), CITUB, BFW, UGT-Extremadura, Alfa cartel, Solidarnosc, MSZOSZ, Cisl-Piemonte

13. Simeonova, Y., V. Ivanova, I.Atanassova and V. Mikova (2008), ‘Social and economic effect of the work-life balancing measures in Bulgaria’ (In the framework of the project BILANCIA), CITUB, (In Bulgarian)

14. Hristov, J., L. Tomev, N. Daskalova, E. Ribarova, B. Arsov, Y. Simeonova and Pl. Dimitrov (2009), Strategy of the Confederation of Independent trade Unions in Bulgaria for development and regulation of the industrial relations. CITUB, (in Bulgarian)

15. Tomev L. (2009), The legacy of transition – the possible start of the chock therapy. In: Economic activity in Bulgaria and its social dimensions in the first decade of the millennium. From economic revival to economic crisis. Analytical overview, S., CITUB, Labour Institute of GSNEE - Greece (in Bulgarian)

16. Tomev L., B. Arsov, E. Ribarova, Ch. Hristov, A. Goneva and V. Mikova (2009), Collective bargaining at the enterprise. Guide, S., CITUB, 2009

17. Ribarova E. Industrial relations and collective bargaining in the MNC-subsidiaries in Bulgaria - before and after the accession to the EU. In: Transnational collective bargaining within the European multi- level system of industrial relations. International conference, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 20-21 February 2009

18. Ribarova E. Main trends of integration of the young people into the labour market in Bulgaria. In: Productivity, Investment in Human Capital and Challenges to the Youth Employment. Seventh International Conference in memory of Professor Marco Biagi, Modena, Italy, 19-21 March 2009 (forthcoming publication in the Bulletin of Labour Relations, Kluwer Law International, Netherlands)

19. Ribarova E. The transformations in labour and implementation of traditional and new forms of social dialogue and interests’ representation in Bulgaria. In: The transformations in Labour-Social Security and Social Dialogue, UNWE, Sofia, 2009 (in Bulgarian)

ISTUR has its own information and field network in all 28 districts of the country. It maintains a network of contacts with relevant research institutions, state administration and NGOs. The institute works with departments and affiliated member-federations, territorial bodies of CITUB and CL Podkrepa as well as representative employers’ organisations. Fellows of ISTUR are members of different national and regional tripartite social dialogue bodies. Other transnational networks: European Trade Union Institute collective bargaining network, European Trade Union Institute worker participation, EU network, Institutional Associate Member of IIRA- International Industrial Relations Association, Geneva – since 2004, Global Union Research Network (GURN) at ACTRAV, ILO. ISTUR is a national correspondent of the EIRO, EWCO and ERM observatories of the European Foundation for Improving Living and Working Conditions, Dublin.

Through these partnerships ISTUR represents an original bridge between the social partners as well as the national and the international research community.