Cultural, academic unions stage demonstration in Budapest

Unions representing employees in Hungary’s cultural and academic sectors staged a demonstration demanding greater appreciation for their sectors’ workers in Budapest on Tuesday, the Day of Hungarian Culture.

Csaba Csóti, chairman of the public museums and public cultural employees union (KKDSZ), told the event held in front of the main headquarters of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences that

the sector’s workers were not being paid fairly and that the sector lacked a fair partnership with the state.

Hungary’s cultural employees observe the Day of Hungarian Culture each year, but have been waiting for a decade to be paid fair wages, he said.

László Kuti, head of white-collar union ESzT, talked about last year’s changes to the funding of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, saying that the state must not be allowed to interfere in the work of research institutes.

Ilona Kazinczi Korecz, head of academic and innovation workers’ union TUDOSZ, said academic workers were facing an existential crisis. She said

researchers deserved a pay rise and better career prospects.

Source: MTI