More than 5,000 local government employees took part in the twp-hour warning strike organized by the Trade Union of Hungarian Civil Servants and Public Employees (MKKSZ) Monday morning in order to accentuate demands of wage increase.

Hungary's Economy Ministry has released on its website that the government is planning to consider mergers in the public sector, is determined to achieve significant staff cuts, and keep wage costs at the current level.

In the first six months of this year, real wages in Hungary were up by 3.7% year on year. Over the same period, consumer prices increased by 5.7%. According to data released by the Central Statistical Office the number of people employed in Hungary in the first half of 2010 was 2 million 671,000.