Socialists press for higher salaries

Budapest, November 7 (MTI) – People in Hungary need higher salaries so that they have a “free choice of how they want to live”, Jozsef Tobias, leader of the opposition Socialist Party, said on Saturday.

Tobias insisted that in terms of incomes Hungary was lagging behind the rest of Europe and the gap between the country’s rich and poor was increasing.

In lack of competitive salaries Hungary’s youth will seek jobs in other countries, Tobias suggested.

“A pay hike in the public sector requires new legislation; higher pay for millions working in the real economy requires a new government,” Tobias said, and insisted that his party would be ready to govern in 2018.

Tobias said that the tax burden on private companies was too great to ensure higher net wages.

Lajos Korozs, deputy head of parliament’s welfare committee, criticised the ruling parties for rejecting a proposal to help starving children. He insisted that the only effort the government had done against poverty was to “ban the word” and also criticised the Central Statistical Office for suppressing poverty data.