Környezetvédelmi és Vízügyi Minisztérium

Type
Internal restructuring
Country
Hungary
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Both central and regional units
Sector
Public Administration And Defence
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security
84 - Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
285 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
20 June 2006
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date

Description

The Hungarian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Management plans to lay off 285 employees from both central and regional units, announced the re-elected Minister, Miklós Persányi. Thus the total number of workforce will be reduced from 7185 to 6900 in the course of 2006 and 2007. The lay-offs are taking place in the context of a project of streamlining the Ministry of Environment and Water as well as the entire public administration system, forming part of the efforts of the recently re-elected MSZP-SZDSZ coalition Government to reduce state expenditures and to restore the budgetary balance (‘austerity package’).

In the course of 2006, 45 employees will be laid off at the central apparatus, leaving a workforce 408. As a result of the restructuring of the Ministry, 5 instead of 7 state secretaries and only 15 of the previous 35 heads of department will remain. From 1 January 2007 on, two regional inspectorates in Southern Hungary (the Baja-based Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water of the Lower Danube Valley; Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water of the Körös region, based in Gyula) will be closed down and reorganised into branch offices of other regional inspectorates. Run under the direction of the Minister, the two bodies were part of a network of 12 regional authorities supervising environmental, conservational and water-related issues, implementing related tasks, co-operating with local governments, businesses, citizens and their associations as well as maintaining relations with associated bodies and the relevant organisational units within the Ministry. The Inspectorate used to have two offices located in the cities of Baja and Gyula. 65 employees were made redundant in Gyula, while only a minor office is going to stay in Baja, belonging from now on to the Dél-dunántúli Környezetvédelmi, Természetvédelmi és Vízügyi Felügyelőség (Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water of the Southern Transdanubian Area), the headquarters of which are to be found in Pécs, at a distance of 200 kilometres from some of the territories formerly supervised by the authority subject to closure. A local opposition MP in Baja questioned the relevance of the professional reasons given for the measures. The majority of local government officials in Gyula (not including the Mayor, a member of MSZP) supported the petition of the 65 dismissed employees requesting the body not to be closed down.

Sources

  • 21 June 2006: HVG (hvg.hu)
  • 8 July 2006: Népszabadság
  • 20 June 2006: Napi Gazdaság
  • : (www.nol.hu)

Citation

Eurofound (2006), Környezetvédelmi és Vízügyi Minisztérium, Internal restructuring in Hungary, factsheet number 63850, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/63850.