Hungarian opposition lawmakers fined for parliament protest

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Dozens of Hungarian opposition lawmakers have been fined up to a month’s wages for their loud disruptions and protests inside parliament in December, as deputies were voting on changes to the labour code.

Trade unions and opponents have criticized the bill approved by government-party deputies as a “slave law” benefiting employers.

Fines approved Tuesday by lawmakers from Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party for 36 members of the opposition totalled the equivalent of nearly $150,000, ranging from $1,290 to $6,450 per legislator.

The green Politics Can Be Different party, which had six lawmakers punished, said the fines should be donated to needy families, while the Socialist Party said they were proud of their actions against the “slave law.”

The fines’ amount was decided by Parliamentary Speaker Laszlo Kover.