LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

Hungary

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Hungary’s overall score is 93.5 out of 100. The overall score for Hungary is higher than the regional average observed across Eastern Europe (88). Within the Eastern European region, the highest score is observed for Greece (96).

Hungary ratified Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) in 1957 and Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) in 1957.

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

Yes

1

§231 & 271(3) of Labour Code 2012; §228-A of the Criminal Code 1978

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

Yes

1

§XVII, Constitution of Hungary, 2011; §276-284, Labour Code 2012

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0

Strike Law 1989; Passenger Transport Services Act 2012; CEACR, C87, Obs. 2021

B

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

Yes

1

§6 of the Strike Law 1989

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/  

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100. 

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT. 

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March.  For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

No Violation

Violations

No Violation

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)
CEACR, C87, Obs. 2021 (recheck)

Right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities. The Committee had previously noted that: (i) the Strike Act, as amended, states that the degree and condition of the minimum level of service may be established by law, and that, in the absence of such regulation, they shall be agreed upon by the parties during the pre-strike negotiations or, failing such agreement, they shall be determined by final decision of the court; and (ii) excessive minimum levels of service are fixed for passenger transportation public services by Act XLI of 2012 (Passenger Transport Services Act), both at the local and suburban levels (66 per cent) and at national and regional levels (50 per cent); as well as with regard to postal services by Act CLIX of 2012 (Postal Services Act), for the collection and delivery of official documents and other mail. The Committee trusted, in view of the consultations undertaken on the modification of the Strike Act, that due account would be taken of its comments during the legislative review.
The Committee notes that the Government refers again to the relevant provisions of the Strike Act (section 4(2) and (3)) and to the Passenger Transport Services Act and Postal Services Act. In the Government’s view, by regulating the extent of sufficient services in respect of two basic services that substantially affect the public and thus creating a pre-clarified situation, the legislature promoted legal certainty in the context of the exercise of the right to strike. The level of sufficient services was determined seeking to resolve the potential tension between the exercisability of the right to strike and the fulfilment of the State’s responsibilities to satisfy public needs. The Government further indicates that negotiations on the amendment of the Strike Act took place in the framework of the VKF throughout 2015 and 2016, in the course of which the trade unions considered that the extent of sufficient services in the passenger transport sector was excessive. The employees’ and employers’ sides managed to agree on a few aspects of the amendment of the Strike Act, but failed to reach an agreement regarding, inter alia, which institution should be authorized to determine the extent of sufficient services in the absence of a legal provision or agreement. Stressing the importance of a compromise of the social partners on the amendment proposals of the Strike Act, the Government adds that, since the trade unions had announced proposals at the end of 2016 but had not submitted them during the first half of the year, no further discussions have taken place in 2017. The Committee further notes that the workers’ group of the National ILO Council reiterates that the strike legislation contains an obligation to provide sufficient service during strike action which in some sectors virtually precludes the exercise of the right to strike (for example by requiring 66 per cent of the service to be provided during the strike and ensuring the feasibility of this rate through extremely complicated rules).
The Committee recalls that, since the establishment of a minimum service restricts one of the essential means of pressure available to workers to defend their economic and social interests, workers’ organizations should be able, if they so wish, to participate in establishing the minimum service, together with employers and public authorities; and emphasizes the importance of adopting explicit legislative provisions on the participation of the organizations concerned in the definition of minimum services. Moreover, any disagreement on such services should be resolved by a joint or independent body responsible for examining rapidly and without formalities the difficulties raised by the definition and application of such a minimum service, and empowered to issue enforceable decisions. The Committee further recalls that the minimum service must genuinely and exclusively be a minimum service, that is one which is limited to the operations which are strictly necessary to meet the basic needs of the population or the minimum requirements of the service, while maintaining the effectiveness of the pressure brought to bear; and that, in the past, it has considered that a requirement of 50 per cent of the volume of transportation may considerably restrict the right of transport workers to take industrial action. The Committee therefore once again highlights the need to amend the relevant laws (including the Strike Act, the Passenger Transport Services Act and the Postal Services Act) in order to ensure that the workers’ organizations concerned may participate in the definition of a minimum service and that, where no agreement is possible, the matter is referred to a joint or independent body. The Committee expects that the consultations on the modification of the Strike Act undertaken within the framework of the VKF will continue. It requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the status or results of the negotiations with particular regard to the manner of determining minimum services and the levels imposed in the postal and passenger transport sectors, and expects that the Committee’s comments will be duly taken into consideration during the legislative review.

Violations

No Violation