Unions, left-wing parties voice demands on Labour Day

Budapest, May 1 (MTI) – Hungary’s trade unions called for joint efforts to reduce the vulnerability of workers while opposition parties demanded higher wages for workers on Labour Day on Sunday.

The heads of Hungary’s five trade union confederations said in the City Park that the Labour Code should be revised, a fairer tax system introduced and the minimum wage raised to subsistence level. Representatives of the TU confederations MASZSZ, Liga, ESZT, SZEF and MOSZ placed flowers at a memorial stone erected on the spot where Hungary’s first free Labour Day was celebrated.

The opposition Socialists said the past two years have made it clear that there is a great need for genuine left-wing parties. Party leader József Tóbias said in the City Park that the elections in 2018 could be won if local communities are mobilised. The left wing must not turn a blind eye on the millions living in poverty and in “existential crisis”. Budapest party leader Ágnes Kunhalmi said the government parties will have to give account of their actions in 2018. “I am convinced that they should not only be replaced but also called to account and put behind prison bars,” she said.

Ferenc Gyurcsány, leader of the opposition DK party, said in the City Park that a new democratic government would have to create a Labour Code that strengthens the representation of workers, gives them back the right to go on strike and recognises weekend work with increased bonuses.