"The most outrageous thing is the beginner teacher, whose net hourly wage is 920 forints (EUR 2.64),” according to teacher's trade union PDSZ.Continue reading
Real wages have started to drop in Hungary for the first time in 12 months which “goes to show that the Fidesz-led government has failed in its pandemic-related crisis management efforts”, the co-leader of opposition LMP said on Friday.
“While gross average wages have increased by an annual 3.5 percent, inflation has risen to 5 percent over the past 12 months,” Máte Kanász-Nagy told an online press conference. He noted that the gross wage increase also included a one-off payment of 500,000 forints (EUR 1,435) to health-care workers.
In 2020, an average Hungarian household had a monthly net income of 197,000 forints, the politician said, adding that more than one million people were making minimum wage.
LMP’s programme includes guaranteeing everyone a steady income increase instead of distributing one-off payments as “a donation”, Kanász-Nagy said, adding that the wages of teachers and employees in the cultural and social sectors had stagnated over a long period of time.
The party promises to introduce a fairer tax policy including scrapping any tax on the minimum wage and reducing the tax on incomes up to 500,000 forints to 12 percent, the politician said.
Featured photo via Máté Kanász-Nagy’s Facebook page