As of January, the Government increases public work wages by 2.4 percent, the expected rate of inflation for next year, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference in Budapest.

The fiscal cost of the wage hike is HUF 4.4bn, an item which is included in next year’s budget, as part of the HUF 184bn fund allocated for financing the public work scheme, Sándor Czomba added. As he stressed, the gross and net 8-hour minimum wages of public work employees will be HUF 77 300 and 50 632, respectively. The guaranteed gross and net minimum wages of skilled workers will be HUF 99 100 and HUF 65 000, while an overseer will earn more than HUF 71 400 as of January.

Provided family tax allowances are also taken into account, the net wage for those with one, two or three children will be HUF 60 632, HUF 70 630 and HUF 76 100, respectively. Thanks to tax changes implemented next year, the wage of a public work employee with two children will increase by HUF 9 000, while those with at least three children will be HUF 15 000 higher per month. In case both parents are public work employees and they have three or more children they will receive some HUF 30 thousand more together, the Minister of State added.

In the current winter phase of the programme, the number of public work employees is 200 thousand, while this number is anticipated to increase to 300 thousand by the end of winter.

Sándor Czomba also said that as of 1 December 87 thousand public work employees started at learning courses and after a knowledge test everybody will be directed to a customized course. He emphasised that learning courses also include some basic legal knowledge stretching from employee rights to the establishment of an enterprise.

(Ministry for National Economy)