Opposition parties to filibuster parliament vote on ‘slave law’

Opposition parties announced on Monday that they will move to filibuster a final vote on a government bill submitted to parliament on overtime rules.

The amendment submitted to the labour code envisages increasing annual overtime from 250 hours to 400 hours, among other measures.

Last week, the bill’s proponents inserted changes to their original proposals, namely any overtime per year up to 150 hours above the 250 hour threshold “voluntarily entered into” must be concluded with a written agreement between employers and employee.

Also, another change proposed to be written into Hungary’s labour code is that an employer will not have the right to fire an employee if they are unwilling to agree to extra overtime.

Bertalan Tóth, the leader of the Socialists, told a press conference that they would submit to the “slave law” on Monday 2,800 amendment proposals on each if which the assembly must hold a vote.

Tímea Szabó, co-leader of Párbeszéd, said that should parliament pass the law, the party will turn to Hungary’s Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.