Filipino guest workers’ salaries in Hungary revealed

More than 10,000 Filipinos work in Hungary, often earning more in factories here than they would in high-skilled jobs back at home.

As Pénzcentrum reports, a recent Deutsche Welle video revealed how salaries in factories in the agricultural sector of Hungary often outperform intellectual positions in the Philippines. Last year, for example, guest workers were offered a net salary of EUR 550 per month, which for many was double what they would have made at home. Employees also receive other benefits that make the Hungarian labour market attractive: their employer pays for their plane ticket to Hungary, as well as providing a visa and insurance, and free living quarters in workers’ hostels.

Working in Hungary through guest workers’ eyes

The Deutsche Welle report highlights the stark wage differences between the two countries that make foreign work attractive for those in the Philippines. In the video, two female guest workers share their experiences in the Hungarian workforce.

One of them, who works three shifts in a factory in Eastern Hungary, said that a big difference between the two countries is in the work hours: in the Philippines, shifts usually exceed eight hours, so she is used to much longer workdays. This is why she feels able to take on multiple shifts. The salary is important because she is raising her two children alone, and while she graduated from university as a pharmacist, she makes twice as much as a factory worker here than she did back home. It is also a great benefit, she shares, that Hungary is a member of the European Union.

The other woman, who works on the same factory’s production line, is a chemical engineer. At home, she was a department manager of a company manufacturing household appliances, until due to the recession caused by the pandemic, she was fired. At 36 years old, she is considered too old to be hired, she stated, as most companies prefer those who are newly graduated, as they will work for much cheaper.

Workers from the Philippines make up the 4^th largest group of foreign labourers in the country, behind Ukrainians, Serbians, and Vietnamese people. Most of them work in the manufacturing sector. Even though workers earn more in Austria and other Western European states, Hungary remains a popular destination for foreigners, the owner of a recruitment agency working with Filipinos said, as the country is Catholic, and has a similar culture to the Philippines.

The two women in the video also emphasised that they find that their coworkers are very accepting of them, so they feel welcome in Hungary. The hard part, they say, is being away from their families.

The labour question in Hungary

As we have reported earlier, the number of foreign guest workers in Hungary, particularly from Vietnam and the Philippines, skyrocketed in recent years, sparking controversy in many cases, such as the news that Filipino drivers would be employed on Budapest’s public transport.

The Hungarian government, in turn, has been ambivalent on migrant labourers. On the one hand, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said that potentially 500,000 new employees could be needed in the country’s employment sector. Furthermore, as we wrote HERE, recent immigration legislation has made it easier to employ Asian workers in some sectors. On the other hand, however, official rhetoric is often hostile when it comes to an influx of foreign workers. The government later regulated the importation of workers, considerably limiting the scope of the aforementioned legislation.

See the video about the Filipino workers in Hungarian here:

Read also:

• Hungarian CEOs’ surprising experiences with foreign workers – HERE
• MKIK head: foreign guest workers should be employed in a regulated way to strengthen the economy – READ HERE

Source: Pénzcentrum, Deutsche Welle