Consultations start on next year’s minimum wages

Consultations have started on next year’s minimum wage and the minimum wage for skilled labourers at the VKF, a forum of employers, unions and the government, the innovation and technology ministry said on Tuesday.

The social partners agreed at Tuesday’s round of talks that the minimum wage should be raised in one step to 200,000 forints (EUR 571) next year. As regards the minimum wage for skilled labourers, the employers’ side suggested that it should be increased in two steps, first from next year and then from Jan 1 in 2023, the president of the employers’ organisation told MTI. The extent of the increase will depend on what compensation the government would offer to employers, Zoltán Szőke Zs said.

On behalf of the employee side, Melinda Mészáros of the Liga Unions said they will need to see what subsidies the government would provide to businesses because if these are significant, then she believes the minimum wage for skilled labourers should be raised in one step, along with the minimum wage. She noted that the number of people earning a minimum was between 200,000 and 300,000 in the past years while of those receiving a minimum wage as skilled workers was between 700,000 and 800,000.

The ministry cited state secretary for employment policy Sándor Bodó as saying that the government planned to increase the amount of the minimum wage to 200,000 forints, in line with the opinion of the Hungarian people expressed in the latest National Consultation public survey.

The consultations will continue within a few weeks, the ministry said in a statement.

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Source: MTI