Trade unions have demanded talks with the government on both its implemented and planned changes to labour laws. Istvan Gasko, chairman of the LIGA union organisation, said workers’ rights have been curtailed by new government measures and that there are further changes tabled for adoption. As an example, he mentioned strike laws, which government has restricted. Gasko also said that raising the trial period at work from three to six months makes employees more vulnerable to dismissal. He argued that there are “very bad signs” regarding further changes to the Labour Act planned, of which little has been revealed thus far. Gasko said that LIGA will initiate talks with the government on these problems and “if there will be no results, employees will revert to other methods”, adding that talks can take place within the framework of the National Interest Coordination Council (OET) or in bilateral meetings. The OET has not yet been convened this year.
English: Máté Komiljovics, union correspondent
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.