Waste, Pensions/retirement, Hungary

(January 2017) EPSU has sent a message of support to four members of the HVDSZ 2000 municipal and waste union who were sacked by their employer, FKFzrt. The four are part of a collective bargaining negotiating team and were paid by company as part of a normal arrangement but which the company now claims contravenes the law on independent unions. The union, supported by its confederation MASZSZ, has set up an online campaign backed by the Labourstart website.

Sixteen trade unions are working together in a campaign against the "slave law" that will see major changes to rules on working time, with overtime limits increased from 250 hours to 400 hours a year. A national demonstration was organised on 8 December and EPSU sent a message of support. A further national protest is planned for 5 January, with support also coming from civil society organisations. The unions have a range of demands including withdrawal of the overtime proposals, a pay rise for public sector workers, changes to the strike law and improvements to pensions.