Hungary

Organization responsible for the statistics

Hungarian Central Statistical Office.

Objectives and users

To provide information about the efficiency of the system of tripartite reconciliation.

Major users: Government, trade unions, Ministry of Economics and sociologists.

Coverage

Strikes and lockouts: The statistics cover:

Lockouts, political or protest strikes, and action such as working to rule, go-slows, overtime bans, sit-ins are not included.

Minimum threshold: 10 workers involved.

Economic activities: All economic activities and sectors.

Workers: Regular paid employees (full- and part-time). Temporary or casual workers, seasonal workers, unpaid family helpers and self-employed workers are not included.

Geographic areas: The whole country.

Types of data collected

a) number of strikes and lockouts: number of strikes;

b) number of establishments involved;

c) number of workers involved;

d) duration;

e) amount of time not worked ("time lost");

f) other: outcome of the strike.

Concepts and definitions

(Source: 7th Law on Strikes, 22 March 1989)

Strike: A temporary work stoppage effected by one or more groups of workers with a view to enforcing or resisting demands or expressing grievances, or supporting other workers in their demands or grievances.

Methods of measurement

Strikes and lockouts: The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike is one work stoppage due to a labour dispute. A strike which is interrupted and later resumed is considered to be a new strike.

Establishments: An establishment can be: a corporation with a legal entity; a corporation without a legal entity; an unincorporated enterprise; an economic institution; a government body; a social security or non-profit institution with a legal entity; an individual unit carrying out an economic activity. The number of establishments involved is counted for all types of strike covered.

Workers involved: The number of workers involved relates to workers directly involved and workers indirectly involved. It is counted as the average of the number of daily absences during the period of the strike. Part-time workers are counted as individuals on the same basis as full-time workers. Workers laid off during a strike and workers absent on sick or annual leave during a strike are not included.

Duration: The duration is measured in workdays as the number of days on which there was a work stoppage.

Time not worked ("time lost"): Time not worked is measured in workhours by determining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the strike and summing the totals. The shorter working hours of part-time workers is taken into account, by measuring the hours not worked by these workers. Overtime is not taken into account in the estimate of time not worked.

Classifications

a) cause of dispute: not applicable;

b) outcome of dispute: none;

c) method of settlement: not applicable;

d) economic activity: The data are classified by economic activity using the 1992 International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Rev. 3;

e) occupational group: not applicable;

f) number of establishments involved: none;

g) number of workers involved: none;

h) duration: none;

i) time not worked: none.

Reference period and periodicity

The statistics are compiled for periods of one year. They refer to strikes in progress during the reference period, i.e. those beginning during the reference period plus those continuing from the previous one. The amount of time not worked is included in the statistics for the period when the strike ended. Information on strikes ending during the reference period is also compiled separately. Statistics are published once a year.

Analytical measures

Amount of time not worked per 1,000 workers.

Historical background of the series

The statistics were first compiled in 1991. Until 1996, the statistics covered temporary work stoppages in which the total time not worked exceeded 800 hours. Since 1996, they cover temporary work stoppages in which 10 or more workers are involved.

Documentation

Series available: The following series are published:

Bibliographic references: The data are published in: Hungarian Central Statistical Office: International Pocket Book (annual).

idem: Pocket Book (annual).

Methodological information about the statistics is published in: Hungarian Central Statistical Office: Labour Statistical Definitions, Methodology 1998.

Data published by the ILO: The following data are furnished regularly to the ILO for publication the Yearbook of Labour Statistics., relating to strikes: number of strikes, number of workers involved, number of days not worked and rates of days not worked, by economic activity.

All the data are published.

Confidentiality: There are no restrictions on the publication or release of data.

International standards

The current international statistical standards and guidelines were followed when the concepts, definitions and methods used for compiling the statistics were revised.

Representative of workers' and employers' organizations were consulted for this purpose.

Methods of data collection

Under the terms of Government Regulation 187/1998, there is a legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike.

The Hungarian Telegraphic Agency scrutinizes the press throughout the country, and sends a copy of any article concerning a strike to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. This office then sends a questionnaire about the strike (Report on strike statistics) to the establishments or institutions involved.

The following information is included in the questionnaire:

Information about the establishments or institutions involved: name, address, statistical number.

Information about the strike: