Reports conflict on whether government plans to slash another 3,000 jobs

Around 3,000 civil servants will see their jobs made redundant, a report in Magyar Nemzet stated. Citing the government spokesperson’s office as the source of its information, the paper stated than in 2007, 12,500 civil servants were laid off, with an additionally 3,000 expected to be this year. All of this is part of the government’s convergence program for adopting the euro.

József Fehér, the General Secretary of the civil service union MKKSZ, responded that the information was surprising, especially since the government had promised that layoffs would not continue into the present year, adding that the remaining staff were being forced to work unpaid overtime to make up for their former colleagues’ absence.

Between June 2006 and December 2007, 90,000 civil servants were fired. József Fehér also pointed out that the effects of the convergence program are shown by the appalling unemployment statistics. The unpaid overtime the remaining employees are forced to do has resulted in cases of burnout never seen before.

Vice-president of the Employment Committee Ildikó Bernáth says that while decreasing the number of civil servants, the government is also outsourcing the tasks performed by them so that they continue working as temporary employees, without holding civil servant status. She adds that those who lose their jobs in the public sector usually cannot find a job in the competitive sector.

According to the newest KSH (Central Statistics Office) survey, between December 2007 and February 2008, the number of employed persons between the age of 15 and 74 was 3.858 million, or 72,000 less than a year before. 18.6% of the unemployed are between the age of 15 and 24, and their prospects are not bright, given the fact that 44.9% of unemployed people have been unsuccessfully looking for a job for at least a year.

A report recently filed by states newswire MTI via privatbankar.hu contradicts Magyar Nemzet‘s piece, however. The article, quoting a statement by the government spokesman’s office, said the government does not intend any more layoffs in the public sector, and the 3,000 staff referred to in the Magyar Nemzet article are part of a labor rearrangement plan launched the previous year. This information was released as a direct rebuttal to the Magyar Nemzet article.

The overhaul in the public sector is meant to increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Currently the public sector employs 730,000 people, which according to MTI is 50,000 less than in 2006, or 90,000 less than in 2003.