Protests and road blockades across Hungary

The LIGA trade union held partial road blockade at 62 points around Hungary from the morning till the afternoon this Monday in protest against a number of government measures which the unions say are disadvantageous to employees.

The Hungarian news agency MTI reported that shortly after 9 am, police dispersed around 20 protesters who had blocked Parliament’s underground garage (that serves lawmakers) and chanted “constitution, democracy, welfare state!”

Speaking ahead of a partial road-block demonstration, trade union leader István Gaskó said he hoped the strike would serve as a wake-up call to the government and demonstrate that there is broad support for the unions’ demands. The LIGA trade union umbrella organization chief said he trusts an agreement with the government and employers can be reached.

On the side of employees, they must think about how its package of demands can be realized and to what extent, Gaskó said, adding that if this demonstration does not achieve what its organizers set out to, there are two options going forward: “hold a demonstration or further partial road blockade or to hold a national strike.”