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Central Europe
December 14, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
Contested overtime bill passed in Hungarian parliament after chaotic vote
bne IntelliNews
Opposition parties attempted to disrupt voting on the contested labour code amendment dubbed the “slave law” by opponents on December 12, which produced chaotic scenes in the Hungarian parliament, but the legislation was approved
by the Fidesz-led majority. Later in the evening thousands of people took to the street. Police used tear gas against protesters in downtown Budapest.
On Wednesday, parliament voted to extend the period employers may account overtime for the purpose of calculating wages and rest days from twelve months to three years, and to raise the upper threshold for annual overtime from 250 to 400 hours.
This would essentially eliminate the need for employers to pay extra for overtime work, as the overtime hours could simply be offset later by off- time work. Labour unions held demonstrations during the weekend and threatened to close down roads and hold mass protests prior to Wednesday's vote.
The governing parties and Prime Minister
Viktor Orban said the aim of the legislation was to dismantle administrative barriers to allow employees to earn more through more work on a voluntary basis. Increasing the overtime is only possible with the written consent of employees, they stressed.
In an interview in Wednesday’s edition of business daily Vilaggazdasag, the minister of technology
acknowledged that the government adopted
the legislation in response to requests from companies. The new rules are widely seen as a concession for multinational companies, especially in the vehicle sector, facing a labour crunch.
At the start of the session, opposition MPs blocked the pair of stairways to the speaker's dais and held up banners on which "Year of Families" was crossed out on one and "Year of Slaves 2018" was written on another.
The house speaker began to chair the session from his own seat rather from the dais, surrounded by Fidesz MPs standing around
him, including Orban, amid continued whistling from the opposition, which intensified as the parliamentary guards appeared at the entrance to the chamber.
MPs began to vote on a number of bills apparently without their ID cards, which was invalid, opposition parties said later at a joint press conference. Parliament approved dozens of pieces of legislation during the chaotic session before the contested bill on the labour code, which was passed with 130 vote for, 52 against and one abstention.
The scandal was broadcast live by a number of MPs on social media, including Parbeszed MP Bence Tordai, who approached Orban and his ministers to ask questions about the bill, while holding his mobile in the prime minister’s face. The parliament floor took on a surrealistic aspect,