Hungarian Government officials held talks with representatives of the Healthcare and Social Workers’ Union (MSZ EDDSZ) on Wednesday and reviewed Government measures versus the union’s demands.

Attila Fülöp, Deputy Minister of State for Families and Equal Opportunities said the conclusion was that the sides’ objectives are not very different, but union representatives also listed their demands which will be discussed at later meetings among the same participants. He said that at future meetings they will also take into account the recommendations of the working group that has been tasked with creating blueprints for a social workers’ career model, which group will hold its first meeting on Friday, 17 January. Fülöp said the Government wants to negotiate a package which would significantly improve social workers’ conditions.

MSZ EDDSZ President Ágnes Cser said after Wednesday’s meeting that after a period during which four Socialist-Liberal governments had remained deaf to their demands, they now welcomed the current government’s initiatives, which also had a beneficial effect on the status of social workers. Among these, she mentioned stopping privatisation and a slow tendency of renationalisation, both of which have begun to show their positive effects.

Cser said the Union currently saw no reason for industrial action, but they did want to see the situation of the worst-paid public sector employees – some 92,000 social workers – finally moving towards a solution. She said they mentioned their most important grievances at today’s meeting and mentioned that the union offered to take part in the aforementioned working group’s meetings so they can formulate their proposal there also.

He said low wages were the most critical aspect for social workers, many of whom are heavily in debt. She also said that social workers employed by non-state institutions did not have public employee status, meaning there is a significant disparity in wages within their ranks.

(Ministry of Human Resources)