Bus drivers’ strike could cause huge chaos in Hungary today

The strike by bus drivers at Volánbusz, responsible for public bus transport between Hungary’s municipalities, broke out this Sunday. As of Monday, approximately half of the services may face disruption, according to the leader of the union.

István Dobi, the president of the Solidarity bus transport union, confirmed to Index on Monday morning that the nationwide strike at Volánbusz would persist, anticipating a much larger turnout compared to the previous day. On Sunday, 3,760 services were cancelled as workers protested about low wages, and on Monday, many more have signalled their intention to strike, with up to 19,000 services potentially cancelled.

The Solidarity bus transport union, which had originally announced a two-day strike on 10 and 11 December, expressed partial satisfaction with the strike in a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Dobi wrote about the Sunday dress rehearsal on the very same day, and due to the lack of leadership tricks in guiding the core of the SZAKSZ at multiple locations, he also mentioned their huge reserve. Consequently, they intend to really hit the employer and owner’s table by staging a walkout on Monday, 11 December.

The president highlighted that maintenance workers had already joined the strike.

The union says the strike is necessary because wage negotiations have stalled.

The union wants a 25 percent wage increase by 2024, but Volánbusz Ltd. had not responded to this demand by 24 November, which is why they resorted to the strike.

On Sunday, Volánbusz claimed that the first day of the strike had not caused any chaos or major disruption.

Details regarding the disruption of bus services on 11 December due to the strike can be found HERE.

As we wrote before, taxi service in Budapest would change from January 2024, details HERE.