This will make public service an actual service and will create the chance to establish a properly qualified workforce, the bill argues.

Most of this number will be part of natural decreases, such as retirement, Economy Minister György Matolcsy said. “The public sector will feel a strong pressure for internal reorganisation”, he added.

MPs Lajos Kósa, Zoltán Kovács and István Tarlós submitted the amendment. Motions presented by individual MPs circumvent the requirement of a House debate.

The amendment would mean central public administration staff and the some 35,000 civil servants at local authorities could be sacked without a reason being given, Népszabadság writes.

Kovács told reporters at the weekend that it has been very difficult to get of rid notaries or “entrenched” civil servants, or only by paying severance payments of several million forints.

By amending the act Fidesz wants to make sure that senior officials can only hold posts for a maximum of five years.

Another motion submitted by the three MPs amends the act on misdemeanours, raising the upper ceiling of onsite fines from the present Ft 20,000 to Ft 100,000.

Unions object to the fact that the government is not allocating the required number of staff to tasks, but carrying out a “general cutting of the lawn”, chairman of the Union Alliance (SZEF) László Varga said on Saturday. This contradicts what Fidesz promised in its election programme, SZEF pointed out.

The SZEF said it will appeal to the Constitutional Court if Parliament approves the Fidesz proposal."

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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