László Kordas, head of the Hungarian Trade Union Confederation, told protesters at the demonstration against planned new overtime rules that “a strange kind of authoritarian capitalism” had emerged in the country, which had taken away the “savings, rights and even the lives” of employees.

József Szilágyi, co-head of the Liga unions group, castigated the government for legislating unilaterally without any meaningful social dialogue beforehand. He called for effective dialogue between government, employers and unions.

Tibor Mezei, head of the union representing employees of the foreign ministry, said that Hungary now had a labour shortage and the government was addressing this problem by increasing working hours and overtime. “But this is not a good solution,” he said.

Tamás Székely, deputy head of the trade union confederation VDSZ, chastised lawmakers for showing a lack of care for families. “They think 400 hours of overtime is fine and it’s okay to pay three years afterwards,” he said.

Slogans of banners held aloft by protesters read: “Together against the slavery law!”; “When dictatorship is a fact, revolution is a duty!”; “We won’t be Europe’s China!”.

According to the organisers, the demonstrators filled the whole of Alkotmány Street leading to the square in front of Parliament. At the end of the demonstration, which was accompanied by a strong police presence, MTI reporters witnessed a man run to the stage and shout: “Occupy Kossuth Square!” The crowd managed to break through the police lines and stormed Kossuth Square. The police then formed a line of defence at the steps of Parliament. The protesters continued their chants there, but no violence occurred and about 20-30 minutes later the crowd gathered in Kossuth Square started to disperse.