Socialists-Parbeszed ready to fight bill on overtime

The Socialist-Parbeszed alliance is ready to use all possible measures, including a referendum bid, to stop the Fidesz-sponsored bill on overtime which would raise the upper threshold for annual overtime from 250 to 400 hours in its tracks, the leaders of the opposition parties said on Wednesday. Socialist Party leader Bertalan Toth told a press conference the bill's aim was to address the country's labour shortage by forcing Hungarians to work more. He accused the government of making a "secret pact" with multinational companies to this end. He dismissed the ruling party's insistence that overtime would be voluntary, adding that vulnerable workers would be forced to serve their employer's interests.