Thousands of families in crisis before Christmas: biggest Hungarian steel works cannot pay

The government resolutely urges Liberty Steel to pay wages due to Duna Steel Works employees in line with its legal obligations, the national economy ministry said on Thursday.

The Liberty group received significant government support until last June, which helped save jobs and families’ livelihoods, the statement said.

The Indian-British company group has so far failed to fulfil its promises to develop the steel works or its obligation to restart production, it said. Instead, it had made repeated false promises in the recent period, it added.

Dunaferr. The main gate in Dunaújváros. Photo: Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

The current owner of the Duna Steel Works has claimed that it cannot afford to pay the wages of several thousand workers, “which is unacceptable”, the ministry said.

The government is ready to intervene to protect the workers, and if necessary it can again offer help from the Wage Guarantee Fund, the ministry said.