Social services wages to grow by up to third

Budapest, November 18 (MTI) – Wages in social services are expected to grow by 15-32 percent next year, the daily Magyar Idők said on Friday, citing consultations between unions and the government.

Union representatives met the deputy state secretary in charge of social policy, Imre Nyitrai, on Thursday to discuss how 9 billion forints (EUR 30m) extra funding for the sector could be used, the paper said.

Ágnes Cser, the head of the democratic trade union for social sector and health-care workers, had called on the government to offer higher wages to workers with a health-care diploma.

The deal which also involves designating the day of social work as a paid holiday has averted a strike called for Dec. 5, she added.

Cser had that the new wage structure should be based on the new minimum wage. According to the paper, within the next 5-6 years wages could grow by as much as 40 percent in real terms.

Source: MTI