Hungary
Background information on industrial relations in Hungary
- 19 Dec 2002
Hungary: Project seeks to strengthen autonomous social dialogue at sector level<#PDF_LINK>A project launched in June 2002 with the financial support of the EU's PHARE programme seeks to create an institutional structure for sectoral social dialogue in Hungary - an element virtually absent from the country's industrial relations system at present. The project, which includes support from a Danish expert team, aims to establish bipartite sector committees in 18 industries to provide appropriate fora for consultation on sectoral policies, facilitate collective bargaining and prepare the Hungarian social partners to play an effective role in the EU-level sectoral social dialogue.
- 04 Dec 2002
Hungary: MSZOSZ congress launches major structural reform<#PDF_LINK>At its fifth congress, held in November 2002, the National Association of Hungarian Trade Unions (MSZOSZ) sought to end a period of lack of strategic focus and decided to develop a new organisational structure which will enable it to tackle the challenges of forthcoming EU membership and the accompanying efforts to strengthen social dialogue in Hungary. MSZOSZ also elected a new leadership team and called for pay increases and working time cuts.
- 04 Dec 2002
Hungary: Government supports working time reduction<#PDF_LINK>In November 2002, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Péter Medgyessy, announced that the government supports the demands of trade unions to reduce statutory normal weekly working time gradually from 40 to 38 hours in the current parliamentary term. Negotiations over working time cuts will now be held in the tripartite National Interest Reconciliation Council, despite employers' misgivings.
- 04 Dec 2002
Hungary: Dispute over wage cuts and privatisation at Dunaferr steel mill<#PDF_LINK>In November 2002, the Hungarian government announced plans for the privatisation of the Dunaferr steel mill, the country's largest remaining state-owned manufacturing firm. At the same time, Dunaferr management proposed severe wage cuts for the coming year. Trade unions at the company object to both plans and have threatened a strike.
- 26 Nov 2002
Hungary: Industrial relations in the construction industry examined<#PDF_LINK>Since the late 1980s, the Hungarian construction sector has undergone major changes, which have been accompanied by the emergence of a fragmented and decentralised industrial relations system. However, current efforts to develop a meaningful social dialogue at the sectoral level have already resulted in a new initiative to negotiate over a multi-employer collective agreement, and might lead to sector-level representative bodies on both sides gaining strength. This article examines the development of industrial relations in construction and the situation in 2002.
- 14 Nov 2002
Hungary: Last-minute agreement averts Malév flight attendants strike<#PDF_LINK>In November 2002, last minute-talks averted a strike by flight attendants at Malév, the Hungarian national airline. Management and the flight attendants' trade union reached an agreement to increase the per diem allowance paid to attendants, and to increase their maximum annual number of flight hours.
- 14 Nov 2002
Hungary: Agreement between IBM and unions over plant closure<#PDF_LINK>In October 2002, IBM announced that it was to close its Hungarian hard-disk manufacturing facility, located in Székesfehérvár, employing 3,700 people. In early November, an agreement was signed between IBM and the local trade unions and works council concerning the rules for the redundancy process.
- 29 Oct 2002
Hungary: Major amendment of Labour Code comes into effect<#PDF_LINK>A major amendment to Hungary's Labour Code came into effect on 1 September 2002. The amendment, supported by the new left-wing government, has considerably strengthened the rights of local trade union sections and diminished the rights of statutory works councils. Furthermore, the amendment has revised some of the most controversial changes made to the Code in 2001, by curtailing a number of the flexibility measures introduced by the previous right-wing government. The new amendment has been fully supported by the trade unions, while employers' associations have criticised both the law-making process and the partial curtailment of flexibility in working time and other areas.
- 18 Sep 2002
Hungary: National-level tripartite forums reformed<#PDF_LINK>In July 2002, on the initiative of the Hungarian government, together with the social partners, an agreement was concluded to renew the national-level tripartite dialogue within the framework of a re-established National Interest Reconciliation Council.
- 29 Aug 2002
Hungary: Agreements signed on implementation of public service pay rises<#PDF_LINK>In July 2002, a national agreement was signed in Hungary's National Labour Council for Public Employees (KOMT) on the implementation of a 50% average pay increase for public service employees introduced by the new Socialist-led government. Following the KOMT recommendations, eight ministries had signed agreements with trade unions on the distribution of the available extra pay resources by late August. Although these sectoral and subsectoral agreements cannot be deemed as collective agreements with legally enforceable status, acting rather as recommendations for local governments running public service institutions, they should make a major contribution to a fair and negotiated distribution of the available funds for pay increases.
- 30 Jul 2002
Hungary: New government increases public sector pay and low-wage earners' income<#PDF_LINK>Hungary's new Socialist-led government has introduced a major package of incomes policy measures. From 1 September 2002, public service employees’ pay will be increased by an average of 50%, while earnings up to the national minimum wage will be exempt from personal income tax, which will raise the income of low-wage earners by around 12%. The amendments to the tax law will increase net wages not only for those earning the minimum wage, but also for a larger group of employees earning less than the national average wage.
- 02 Jul 2002
Hungary: Victorious MSZP promises comprehensive reform of industrial relations system<#PDF_LINK>Following Hungary's April 2002 election, the victorious Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) is forming a coalition government with the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ). MSZP's campaign programme promised a comprehensive reform of the Hungarian industrial relations system, which includes revoking almost all of the controversial decisions to abolish a number of institutions taken by the previous right-wing government. The MSZP programme consists of four major package, which aim to: reinforce the state institutional network dealing with labour market issues; reconstruct the national-level tripartite social dialogue; reinforce the sectoral social dialogue and collective bargaining; and strengthen the position of workplace-level trade union sections.
- 01 Jul 2002
Hungary: Trade union membership falls further<#PDF_LINK>Trade union membership in Hungary has been continuously decreasing in recent years. According to figures published in May 2002 by the Hungarian Tax and Financial Control Administration, the number of people contributing some of their income to any of the trade unions fell by 6% from 2000 to 2001.