Indians, Filipinos, Indonesians flooding Hungary: premeditated population change?
Hungary has a high demand for welders, truck drivers and even skilled workers to do the simplest jobs. Therefore, there is more and more foreign workforce coming to Hungary.
As Index wrote, many foreigners have chosen to work in Hungary. There are workers who have been here for over six years. However, a new act might put an end to that. If the new legislation comes into force, no one will be allowed to stay longer than three years. There are over 4.7 million workers in Hungary. Thus, unemployment is not an issue. On the contrary, there is a lack of workforce in the country.
According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), there are around 85,000 foreigners working in Hungary. Due to labour shortages, Hungary has expanded its list of non-EU countries from which it is legal to import labour. Now, the list contains Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, North Macedonia, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine, Venezuela, the Philippines, and Vietnam. It is possible to come and work in Hungary from other countries as well, such as India, but there are stricter regulations.
Who gets picked?
The Hungarian labour market prefers skilled individuals with basic education and good English skills. The Philippines has been experiencing dynamic population growth. Approximately, there were 27 million people living in the Philippines in the sixties. Now, the number is close to 108 million. There are about one million Philippines every year who choose to leave their country behind and work abroad. Due to the American school system in the Philippines, Filipinos make the perfect workforce for the Hungarian labour market.
Some companies have Mongolian and Indonesian employees as well, but communication is harder, as not all of them speak and understand English. Naturally, these companies demand at least one person in a group of ten to speak English (or Russian). Of course, the workers must somehow tell their bosses if someone got sick over the weekend or has another kind of problem. If a dispute at work occurs, it is much easier to resolve it with an English-speaking “representative”.
How do these workers end up in Hungary?
As mentioned before, Hungary has a high demand for these workers. But how do they manage to come and work here? Workers arriving in Hungary can legally come in two forms. One way is that an intermediary company recruits the workers, and once the workers have been posted to the employer, the foreigners will be in contact with the company that employs them. This way, the intermediary does not have to deal with accommodation or payroll.
The other option is that the temporary employment agency brings in foreigners, takes them into its own staff, and lends them to Hungarian companies. There are 25 Hungarian temporary employment agencies that can legally bring workforce from Asian countries. Most of the Asian workers will work in the industry, in factories.
What do Asian workers do when they are not working?
Most Asian workers are happy to work overtime because they would like to take home as much money as possible. However, when they do decide to rest, it is highly important to have a comfortable bed and good Wi-Fi in their accommodation. After all, they would like to keep in touch with their families at home. Some workers try to learn Hungarian in their free time, but there are people who prefer to travel. These workers might visit Budapest, Lake Balaton, or other EU countries even. Filipinos like to play basketball or cook together as a joint leisure programme. There are smaller towns in Hungary that are flooded by Asian workers, but usually, there are no conflicts or perceived difficulties in living together.
I have Hungarian citizenship and I would work as truck driver but the cost of C+D driver license course is brutally high. Why instead of bringing truck drivers from India, don’t give free courses for people already living here?
Catchy clickbait title there with the extremist conspiracy theory of population change… No. Asians won´t stay here. They hate the climate and the culture – not just Hungarian culture but any culture outside their own. They just want to earn money and go back to their families if a few years. Only a very small proportions of asians would happily stay in a european country. Asians are hard workers so Hungary should welcome asian workers with open arms. They are no threat at all to proud Hungarian culture protectors.
And filipinos are definitely not the perfect workforce for Hungarian labour market since they speak good English but Hungarias don´t. But since Hungary seems to be defining itself as the manufacturing resource for the Europe, you could use Asian workforce in factories. I do believe it is sort of a win-win situation as working in a factory in Hungary is certainly better than working in a factory in most Asian countries where modern slavery is not uncommon.
Exact;y, but arranging free courses for Hungarians is not on the (replacement) agenda. Hungarians have to understand this.
Why is Orbán allowing all these international companies into Hungary. Profit goes back to their own countries, He knows foreign workers will be imported, so it is not in the interest of the Hungarian people. So why is he doing it?
Why isn’t this government active in getting home those hundred of thousands of Hungarians who work in Western Europe?
The answer is simple!
Mongo, that’s outside the capacity of the Orban Government to THINK.
And they PROPAGANDA them-selves to us Citizens as a “People First” Government.
Them first and we get the SCRAPS.
As Mongo says, this is not a question of that old “we need workers” chestnut. Rather, it is a deliberate plan to alter the demographics of Hungary. The “temporary” visa scheme will never work. All the “temporary” workers will find ways to stay here beyond the three years, such as by marrying a cousin who already has the Hungarian citizenship, having an uncle employ them in a bodega, or exploiting the ridiculous asylum laws that the West steadfastly refuses to change despite their being abused left and right by economic migrants. The government didn’t think this one through.
@michaelsteiner – if anything, they would be gunning for EU citizenship – a great perk that comes with Hungarian citizenship. Ukrainians who appplied for Hungarian citizenship may also have had alterior motives.
As an EU citizen, the entire EU / Schengen area is your oyster (as it is with many Hungarians)
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/eu-citizenship/eu-citizenship_en
Then … Why is Orbán allowing all these international companies into Hungary ? Well – foreign direct investment or FDI has always been a priority. We do so, offering grants and incentives (legal state aid), also using EU facilities.
“Profit goes back to their own countries” – we (the Hungarian people) fund our EU lowest 9 percent tax rate for companies with the EUs highest VAT rate. We choose not to tax. The world is going to a minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15 percent, our Politicians are fighting this tooth and nail (“it will hurt our competitiveness!” – companies looking for cheap, apparently).
Steiner Michael – delighted AGAIN you are rebuking your Membership of Fidesz – another idiotic Orban Plan – for the FUTURE of Hungary.
Demographic Change to Hungary – plan of Orban – perilous.
The “welcoming” of foreign companies to establish whatever in Hungary – that does NOTHING to build capital into Hungary – WRONGFUL – as foreign ownerships “ship” it ALL back to there country’s of origin.
Foreign growing numbers in the workforce – will “FEED” the continuation of LOW wages in Hungary, that over-all are the LOWEST in the country’s of the European Union – WRONGFUL.
REMEMBER – that Budapest, Hungary – an intricate Major player, in the NEW Silk Road, the meeting place of the East meeting the West, and then disbursing – what ever comes into Hungary, from the East, the Prime Minister of Hungary’s “climatic” love of China like Russia, being spread out into wider Europe.