International worries over Hungarian education system

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has written to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, calling on him to open a dialogue with the country’s trade unions as public outrage grows over changes to the education system.

As reported by the financial website portfolio.hu, the Hungarian Trade Union Confederation (MASZSZ) has informed the ITUC that it and other trade union bodies in the country have announced their support for the demands that the education system needs to be properly funded, and that the government’s centralising of the education system and other changes it has introduced caused overall dysfunction, with serious overload for teachers and pupils, and lack of basic materials in schools.

The ITUC affiliate also reports increasing intimidation of union representatives and increasing anti-union actions by employers across the country.

"The government’s refusal to work with teachers, and rejection of social dialogue, is a recipe for failure," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.