Hungary MPs vote for labor legislation changes despite opposition’s sirens against ‘slave law’

Hungary’s Parliament on Wednesday approved amendments to labor legislation that trade unions and opponents have criticized as a “slave law” benefiting employers. The government-backed proposal was approved by 130-52 despite opposition efforts to stop the vote by blowing whistles and sirens during most of the voting process and blocking access to the speaker’s pulpit, AP said. The voting on the amendments was also briefly delayed when members of the opposition sang the national anthem. The changes raise workers’ allowable overtime from 250 to 400 hours a year and relax other labor rules in a bid to offset Hungary’s growing labor shortage. The legislation also allows employers to agree on overtime arrangements directly with workers, outside collective bargaining agreements and without having to include unions in the negotiations.