International Trade Union Confederation
4th WORLD CONGRESS
Copenhagen, Denmark, 2-7 December 201

Resolution on the Labour law reforms in Hungary

The 4th Congress of the ITUC, which took place from the 02nd to the 07th of December 2018 in Copenhagen, was informed about the planned anti-employee amendment of the labour code in Hungary.

The improvement of competitiveness shall not be based on the deterioration of workers’ position and on cutting their rights - neither in Hungary nor in other countries of the European Union or any other part of the world.

On behalf of 331 Organisations from 163 countries and territories and 207 million workers, the ITUC opposes the submitted draft amendment of the governing FIDESZ, which intends to increase the overtime threshold to 400 hours per year and to expand the period for balancing extra-hours from 12 to 36. A financial compensation for extra hours would then follow only after three years.

The delegates of the 4th ITUC Congress support the protest of the Hungarian workers, which will take place on the 08th of December in the streets of Hungary and urge the Hungarian Government to withdraw the draft bill, as it undermines national common practice and violates minimal standards of the EU working time directive.