BREAKING! Public transport in Budapest to pause on Friday

Budapest is on the verge of bankruptcy, the government has seized the capital’s accounts, leaving them completely empty. The mayor is pointing to the government and Fidesz as the cause of the trouble, while Fidesz is pointing to Karácsony and, of course, the Tisza party, who are not even in power.

Budapest company unions to set up demonstration and strike committees

Unions at companies run by the Budapest metropolitan council have decided to set up demonstration and strike committees, Gergely Karacsony, the city’s mayor, said on Monday.

Karácsony said on Facebook that he had been told about the decision at a meeting with the employees of the Budapest transport company BKV. The mayor said he understood their decision to prepare for a strike, which they will discuss at another meeting in the afternoon.

“It is how the unions point out in their appeal: anyone who wants to push Budapest into bankruptcy will be dragged down with it,” Karácsony said. “The anti-Budapest policy will mean the failure of the state.”

Karácsony said the unions have called on him to discuss the consequences of the government’s policies with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, adding that he was prepared to meet the prime minister at any time and anywhere.

The 27,000 people employed by the city council “understand full well that Budapest can’t keep financing the state”, Karácsony wrote. “They can’t keep plugging the holes in the budget with the funds cut from the capital when those holes keep getting bigger,” he said. “Budapest is being pushed into poverty as the country also gets poorer and the oligarchs get richer.”

“Budapest has to function; Budapest wants to live and not just survive,” he added.

Karácsony said his administration will inform the employees at Budapest-run companies of their next steps. Budapest residents will also be kept up to date on platforms, including announcements on public transport.

The first warning

The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, has announced a pause in public transport services to take place on Friday as “a first warning”, adding the decision was made after talks with trade unions “representing the 27,000 employees of the Budapest family … who trust in the solidarity of the capital’s residents”.

“Together we must send a message to the government: we demand back our money that was taken illegally and an end to the anti-Budapest policy,” he said on Monday in a post on social media, referring to the central government’s so-called solidarity contribution. “Those who bankrupt Budapest will drag Budapest down with them,” he added. “Budapest wants to live, not only to survive,” the mayor declared.

Also important: Budapest public transport fares to increase from 1 June

Fidesz-Christian Democrat group

Responding to the mayor’s announcement, Alexandra Szentkirályi, the leader of the Fidesz-Christian Democrat group in the city assembly, said on Facebook that instead of taking responsibility, Karácsony and his people were “punishing Budapest residents” by paralysing transport on Friday, when services will be paused for 10 minutes.

She said thereafter strikes may last for hours and even for a whole week, “causing huge damage” to the economy and disrupting the lives of millions. Szentkirályi said Karácsony’s aim was to turn attention away from the city’s bankruptcy that she insisted he and the opposition Tisza Party had caused. She accused Karácsony of doing everything to “save their political positions by punishing the people of Budapest”. “This is unacceptable,” she declared. “We will carry on working to ensure the capital’s operations are stable and legal…” she added.

Read more news here about Budapest’s public transport company BKV/BKK

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