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Strike threat in Budapest: public service workers demand answers after the government withdraws billions more from the capital
Tensions continue to rise within Budapest’s public services after the government withdrew another HUF 6.2 billion (EUR 16 million) from the city’s accounts. The Mayor has issued a stark warning about the risk of financial collapse, while representatives of public service workers are not ruling out strike action unless they receive swift and reassuring clarification on the situation.
According to HVG, the demonstration and strike committee representing approximately 27,000 municipal workers sent a letter to Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony on Thursday. The unions say the Mayor’s recent statements have caused serious concern among employees of city-owned companies and institutions, as they suggest that the operation of Budapest could already be in jeopardy this year, along with the livelihoods of tens of thousands of workers.
The committee is calling on Karácsony to personally provide a detailed briefing on the city’s financial situation and explain how the new budget cuts may affect the maintenance of essential public services.
“If we do not receive a prompt and satisfactory response, we will be forced to take more radical measures — including possible work stoppages — to secure a reassuring solution,” reads the letter signed by Gábor Naszályi, President of the Unified Transport Trade Union.
The unions remind the Mayor that next year’s wage negotiations should already be underway, yet this is impossible without financial security for the current year. According to the committee, both the future of the capital’s public services and the livelihoods of its workers are now in serious danger.
