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Hungarian gov't, private sector agree on minimum wage hike

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hungarian government and the country's private sector on Tuesday agreed to raise national minimum wage by 15 percent and the minimum wage for jobs requiring at least secondary education by 25 percent in 2017, National Economy Minister Mihaly Varga said.

The current national minimum wage is 111,000 forints (about 383 U.S. dollars) per month and the wage minimum for jobs requiring at least secondary education is 128,000 forints (442 dollars) per month.

Varga said the increase is not expected to increase the 2.3 percent budget deficit envisaged for 2017 since the higher wages will accelerate economic growth.

The wage hikes would be combined with a 5 percentage point drop in employer taxes and contributions on wages in 2017, the minister said, reiterating an earlier announcement that corporate tax would go down to 9 percent.

Hungarian Trade Union Association chair Laszlo Kordas said with the move the 2018 minimum wage would reach the minimum subsistence level for a single person.

Varga said he would submit the agreement for approval to parliament on Wednesday and expected fast-track approval. Endit