Filipino bus drivers to save Hungary from labour shortage

Hungary has been facing a serious shortage of bus drivers. Filipino employment agencies are trying to recruit Filipino bus drivers to fill in the positions and solve the labour shortage in Hungary.

As we reported HERE, Asian workers have been flooding Hungary lately. The foreign workforce is very much needed for the country, as it has been facing a serious labour shortage. In general, Hungary has a high demand for skilled workers to do simpler jobs. A Hungarian bus driver, János Hrucsár, has told RTL that there are not enough bus drivers either. Hrucsár has been on the roads for over 34 years, he drove 750,000 kilometres without any accidents. He says that his profession has its beauties but unfortunately, fewer, and fewer people choose this occupation in Hungary. He says:

We got a bit old; I started here when I was young, we had a lot of young bus drivers at that time. Now the average age is over 40 years.

There are only a few new entrants who seek to work in this field. Even if someone decides to become a bus driver, it is not granted that the person will pass all the tests. Those who pass the tests usually move abroad, hoping for a better salary.

Lack of bus drivers

The President of the United Transport Workers’ Union, Gábor Naszályi, thinks that this is a present problem in all of Europe. As we write HERE, Italy is actively struggling with a labour shortage as well. Despite that, the lack of bus drivers is a more serious issue in Hungary, as the salaries make Hungarian workers move to other European countries. Due to the shortage of bus drivers in Hungary, those who work in the field must work harder. Hungarian bus drivers are often exhausted. Naszályi says:

The timetables are set up in a way that there is less and less time to even get off the bus between two journeys to do something, for example, to go inside, escape from the heat and cool down for ten minutes.

Open positions

To solve the labour shortage, foreign bus drivers are welcome in Hungary. An employment agency is trying to recruit about a hundred bus drivers to a Hungarian town, Székesfehérvár. The only criteriums are that the driver must be experienced and over 150 centimetres. The advertised salary is HUF 250,000 (EUR 670). Budapest’s public transport company (BKV) is also experiencing a shortage of drivers. The company offers a one-off HUF 500,000 (EUR 1340) to new employees. Drivers can earn an average gross salary of HUF 730,000 (EUR 1950). Although, this salary also depends on the shifts, the days and the time of days, drivers take. BKV also awaits applicants who only have a licence for trucks or cars.

The Hungarian government has simplified the process of obtaining a bus driver’s licence to reduce labour shortages. The bus driver training course will no longer require a truck driver’s licence, a category B licence will suffice. The first courses are expected to start in September.