Hungary: Hír TV management dismissed union leaders

Several journalists working for Hír TV were dismissed on 23 December 2024, just days after forming a union to enhance their working conditions. The International and European Federations of Journalists join their affiliate in Hungary, the Hungarian Press Union (HPU), in expressing its solidarity with the dismissed journalists and denouncing a violation of labour law.

Source: Hír TV logo

The redundancies took place against a backdrop of trade union development within Hír TV, a pro-government news channel, as a group of employees joined the Hungarian Press Union (HPU) and formed, on 10 December 2024, the Hír TV Basic Union of the Press Union, intending to negotiate better pay and working hours.

On 23 December, Hír TV management terminated the employment of several employees, including union leaders and active members. Moreover, an employee who had made the incident public on Facebook, and who had stood up for the dismissed employees on social media, was also hastily dismissed.

"The employer was informed that a union had been set up and that representatives had been elected. A meeting with the technical director was scheduled for the very next day to discuss working conditions. The method and timing of the case raised questions," said HPU President László M. Lengyel.

According to the HPU, these dismissals are reprisals for the formation of the union and constitute an attempt to intimidate the remaining members of the union. The redundancies will be challenged in court.

The Federations said: "Trade union membership is a right that cannot be denied in this way. The anti-labour attitude of Hír TV management is a shame. We stand in solidarity with the workers and call for the dismissals to be reversed immediately."