Members of the Hungarian armed forces get brutal wage hike!

Hungary’s defence minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and state secretary of the Interior Ministry Bence Rétvári promised fair wages for the military, police and ‘border hunters’ at a press conference in Budapest on Saturday.

Rétvári said the war in Ukraine and global economic difficulties pointed to increasing migration pressure, and the armed forces, including the “border hunter” unit to be set up within the police force, would have a key role in managing this.

“Border hunters” will be paid 300,000 forints (EUR 750) during their training and 400,000 forints afterwards,

he said.

Rétvári said non-commissioned police officers will get a wage rise of a 30-44 percent on average from September 1, and police officers’ wages will be raised by 18-25 percent. From September, police officers starting their career will earn 510,000 forints per month compared with 393,000 forints earlier.

Szalay-Bobrovniczky said wages in the military will be increased in two stages, in September and in January 2024. Accordingly, the wage of a novice private soldier will rise from 280,343 forints to 399,180 forints in September and to 439,098 in January. The salary of a novice sergeant will be raised from 375,064 forints to 421,834 forints in September and to 509,287 forints in January, the minister said.