Social sector workers plan protest outside Budapest Prime Minister's Office

On Friday at 15:00, the Social Sector Workers Union (SZÁD) is set to stage a protest in front of the Prime Minister's Office on Alkotmány utca 5 in Budapest, citing low pay as a key issue for social-service employees. The union claims that wages in the sector rank among the lowest for public-service roles, contributing to high staff turnover and a shortage of qualified professionals, which they say harms service quality.

While they praised the Tisza Party’s promise of an immediate 25% salary increase, they warned that the raise still leaves workers far behind the national average and behind peers such as teachers and healthcare staff. SZÁD also called for the increase to be inflation-linked, for sector-neutral financing, and for social-protection spending to reach EU levels. The protest aims to pressure the government to address both pay and structural reforms in the social sector.