Thousands of Hungarians protest ‘slave law’ on overtime

More than 10,000 Hungarians took to the streets to protest new overtime legislation in the country.

The law allows employers to compel up to 400 hours per year of overtime from employees; effectively an extra day a week. It also makes provisions for compensation to be delayed for up to three years.

Previously, employers were able to request up to 250 hours of overtime from employees.

When passing the law in December last year, Hungarian president Janos Ader noted that employees have the right to refuse – and any consent provided must be given in writing.

Nonetheless, opposition parties, trade unions, and civic groups – who termed the new policy to be a ‘slave law’ – organised the protest in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.