Steven N.At the initiative of opposition party MSZP, parliamentary deputies from the democratic opposition submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court that proposed annuling the regulation that essentially eliminates the right of public schoolteachers to strike, according to a statement from MSZP co-chair Ágnes Kunhalmi.
Kunhalmi, who is also vice-chair of the parliamentary Cultural Committee, argues that the National Assembly has hollowed out teachers’ right to strike to such an extent that it basically prohibits them from striking, depriving educators of being able to assert their interests through putting pressure on their employers.
In addition, she believes that the government misled the public and educators by claiming that the January “warning strike” by teachers was illegal, while a recent ruling by the Curia High Court found that the strike was not illegal.
Striking is a fundamental right guaranteed by Hungary’s constitution and the constitutions of other European Union countries, one which neither teachers nor anyone else can be deprived of without a well-grounded, constitutionally-based reason.
This is why MSZP has asked opposition MPs from the democratic parties to request a retroactive “norm check.” We sent the text of the law to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it does not comply with Hungary’s Fundamental Law or Hungarian constitutional traditions, nor with international treaties or judicial practice.
-said Ágnes Kunhalmi in the statement. [Népszava]
