Guest workers come to Hungary even though they could earn more in Western Europe

In recent years, Asian workers have been increasingly replacing Ukranian guest workers in Hungary. The number of Filipino, Vietnamese and Kyrgyz workers is steadily increasing, even though they could earn more in Western Europe.

There are more than 20,000 Ukrainian guest workers in Hungary, approximately 3600 less than last year. Meanwhile, more than 5,000 Filipino, 2,000 Vietnamese, and slightly more than 1,000 Kyrgyz workers arrived, according to Portfolio.

Asian workforce is steadily increasing

As Portfolio recently reported, there are approximately 120,000 guest workers in active employment right now in Hungary, according to figures from the Ministry for National Economy. Due to the labour shortage experienced in recent years, companies are trying to compensate the missing Hungarian workforce by employing guest workers, however, the government recently tightened the sanctions regarding the employment of foreign workers. Among Asian guest workers, Filipinos have been the most frequently employed group. Most of the employees have high school degrees or even college degrees.

Dávid Mayer, the managing director of Toledo, claims that the procedure of employing foreign people can be quite difficult for an average employing company. It can take 2-3 months and the smallest misunderstanding can set back the whole process. In addition, the new alien policing bill significantly tightened regulations concerning foreigners staying and working in Hungary.

Ukrainian guest workers are leaving Hungary

There were approximately 50,000 Ukrainian guest workers in Hungary, now it is typical that they continue to migrate to Western Europe for higher wages and benefits. According to Magdolna Mihályi, Western Europe opened its doors to Ukrainian workers, which was unprecedented. In addition, countries like Germany can provide social support to Ukrainian people who fled the war, which is difficult to compete with. It is also typical that many of them return to Ukraine despite the war because of their family, relatives, values, or out of patriotism.

Why is Hungary still a desirable destination for guest workers?

Photo: depositphotos.com

By now, a public agreement seems to have formed considering the employment of a foreign workforce: if Hungarian companies plan to hire foreign workers, they prefer to hire Asian guest workers. Hungarian companies not only offer their salaries, but benefits as well. This includes accommodation, catering, and travel passes, which could balance out the wages that are lower than what they could earn in Western Europe. This means that we need to look at the benefits as a part of the package deal. After finishing the work in Hungary, receiving a potential letter of recommendation from a European country is also inviting.

Magdolna Mihányi also stated that the reason for Asian guest workers to leave their country behind is to support their families financially. As wages are not the highest in Hungary, companies need to provide a healthy and welcoming atmosphere for their workers to build and maintain a community.