The Hungarian government is working on solving the shortage of labour, which is becoming an increasing problem in certain sectors and professions in the country, by “importing” skilled guest workers to Hungary from countries outside the EU but this will not cause any Hungarians to lose their jobs, the Minister for National Economy has said.

Mihály Varga told the state news agency MTI that the cabinet is taking “strong action” to prevent the increasing problem of labour shortage in Hungary being an obstacle to economic growth. A quarter of enterprises questioned in a short-term labour market prognosis said that they are experiencing labour shortages when attempting to fill certain positions, he said.

Italian guest workers arriving to Munich, Germany, in the 1960s (photo: augsburger-allgemeine.de)

Reacting to a proposal put forward recently by the Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists (MGYOSZ), which suggested the inclusion of “skilled, culturally integrable guest workers” in serving the problem, the minister said that the cabinet agrees with several points of the proposal, including securing the possibility of employing skilled labour from outside the EU if necessary. Nobody has to fear losing their job because the scheme will only involve professions lacking an adequate number of appropriately skilled Hungarian employees, Mr. Varga claimed.

The government will also introduce tax concessions next year to support companies in providing accomodation for arriving guest workers, the minister said.

Sectors worst hit by the shortage of labour in Hungary include the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as the construction and IT sector.

via mandiner.hu

photo: 24.hu