150,000 Hungarian public utility workers on the edge of strike?

Unfortunately, for the past few weeks, the trade unions for public utility companies have been waiting to have a proper hearing and negotiation with the Hungarian government and the immediate employers of the public sector workers. If things do not develop, they might have to resort to other devices to help the public sector employees assert their needs.

According to Index, following the weeks of failed attempts to properly communicate with the responsible authorities and others involved, the trade unions for public utility companies have announced an ultimatum and

they are going to take things further by proclaiming a collective labour conflict situation, which can be considered the forerunner of a strike.

As Index reported, the trade unions for public utility companies have been waiting for reasonable offers of wage increase not only from the direct employers but also from the government for the entire year to no effect. Not only that, but they only keep promising negotiations, and then nothing happens.

Most recently, it was promised that a three-way negotiation between the trade unions, the direct employers and the government, that is, the plenary session of the Public Utilities Consultation Forum (Közszolgáltató Vállalkozások Konzultációs Fóruma – KVKF) would be assembled last Friday, but in the end, this negotiation did not take place – 24 reported.