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Competition between Hungarians and foreigners : An urgent overhaul needed in employment
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Hungary may require an urgent overhaul of its immigration laws due to increasing competition between Hungarian and foreign workers. This dynamic could potentially lead to workplace challenges where both groups collaborate. Despite the potential costs associated with recruiting workers from countries outside the EU, certain Hungarian companies opt to employ foreign workers.
The reason why some Hungarian companies are keen to recruit workers from third world countries are quite simple. Foreign workers, driven by the desire to maximise their earnings, often sacrifice their leisure time to work overtime. This creates competition between the Hungarian workers and their foreign counterparts, as Hungarians may not engage in as much overtime. Various factors contribute to this difference, including potential limitations on foreign workers’ ability to spend leisure time happily due to language barriers or being distant from their families. Additionally, companies, when downsizing, may prefer to retain foreign workers over Hungarians.
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The two sides of recruiting
An article published by Portfolio features interviws with individuals holding opposing views on this matter. One interviewee, a former factory worker, witnessed negative effects, while the other, representing a company, experienced positive outcomes after recruiting abroad. Positive aspects arise when a company rapidly expands and struggles to find enough Hungarian workers promptly, prompting them to seek additional manpower from other countries. This was the case with a Gyöngyös-based company, where a worker from said company told Portfolio that:
Ha! Weird to read that a foreigner (like me) is willing to spend my free time in order to do overtime. Actually, in my case, is the opposit, i have more free time for parties or other activities, but with the economy so down now, probably i need to lower my standards. But this soon will get worse for Hungarian workers with the upcoming asian migration (guest workers) as the government is pushing in silent. Fidesz supporters must be really happy i guess?
It’s absolute madness to be allowing this influx of “guest workers,” who will, of course, stay here forever, as always happens. The flip side is that if their importation is prohibited, many employers will probably just outsource these jobs to the third world. If bringing in more of these workers is restricted, then measures have to be put in place to prevent outsourcing also. Protection of the HUNGARIAN labor force must be top priority.