SOWELL: Social dialogue in welfare services: National report: Hungary

This report seeks to understand how care services in Hungary have been affected by the increasing demand for the services over past decade on the one hand, and by the austerity measures as an aftermath of the economic crises starting in 2008 on the other hand. Within overall care services, the focus in on two subsectors: early childhood education and care (ECEC) for children aged 0-5; and long-term social and health services for elderly people (long-term care, LTC). The report is part of the SOWELL project that scrutinizes care services in Hungary at the national and local level from the perspective of employment relations as a new arena for building solidarity and labour market coordination through social dialogue. The motivation for this focus is the growing demand for care services on the one hand and increasing budget austerity in delivering public finance for care services since 2008-2009 on the other hand. In this context, a four-fold challenge (or a quadrilemma) has been identified that stakeholders in the care sector are facing. These include constrained public finance, the need for quality services, aims to improve the access to services, and finally improvements in working conditions in care services. The report looks at the development in the Hungarian care sector acknowledging these challenges, and the role of social partners and social dialogue therein.