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LMP DEMANDS IMMEDIATE PAY RISE FOR CIVIL SERVANTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT

 

Opposition LMP has called for an immediate pay rise for civil servants, the police and military to avoid a “failure of state and municipal systems”, Márta Demeter, co-leader of the party, told a press conference. Demeter urged that employees of the public sector be granted “decent and competitive” wages, and proposed that the base amount on which monthly wages are calculated should be increased to 60,000 forints (EUR 188) from the current 38,650 forints for civil servants and police, and 44,600 forints in defence. She added that LMP would submit a draft to parliament to that end. Demeter insisted that “the state is not a good master” and argued that “wages in law enforcement and defence are deliberately kept low.” “More and more people will leave the public sector, creating a greater and greater shortage of administrators, police officers, and fire fighters.”
Answering a question about European Parliamentary plans to tie EU subsidies to the observance of the rule of law in member countries, Demeter said that such a mechanism would impact not only the government but the people, and it would not be a good tool for fighting corruption either. LMP advocates a distribution mechanism through which the funds would reach residents “bypassing the government”, Demeter said.