LMP accuses government of discrediting social dialogue

Opposition LMP said on Thursday that genuine social dialogue was needed in Hungary and called on the government to stop discrediting social dialogue by including questions with obvious answers in the latest National Consultation survey.

Party co-leader Erzsebet Schmuck said the survey was not good for more than to reveal “what imaginary enemy Prime Minister Viktor Orban is fighting” and what methods he uses to further deepen divisions in Hungarian society. The government primarily uses important issues for manipulation, she said, citing a question concerning whether the minimum wage should be increased to a monthly 200,000 forints (EUR 565).

LMP has demanded a higher minimum wage for years but ruling Fidesz took 25,000 forints away from recipients each month by discontinuing tax exemption on the minimum wage, she said.

Raising the minimum wage to 200,000 forints would immediately bankrupt a third of Hungarian SMEs unless they receive state support, she added.

Commenting on another question, she said LMP agreed with forcing multinationals to more environmentally friendly production with higher taxes. The Orban government, however, repeatedly chose to support multinationals from taxpayers’ money while doing nothing to effectively fight climate change, Schmuck said.

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