A situation that grew tense with unions bound to oppose the government. In 2009, union membership amounted to 12 percent of active workers. Like in other European countries, this number is down, but not all unions are affected equally. Also, remember that a lot of pensioners stay affiliated.
In Hungary, the union landscape has been fragmented since union confederations appeared in the late 80s-early 90s. Here are the major confederations: MSZOSZ (National confederation of Hungarian unions – manufacturing and private sectors, e.g. retail), ASZSZ (independent unions – public services, transportation and chemical industry), SZEF (union cooperation forum – health, social services and local/central government), ESZT (professional unions – public education and research institutes), LIGA (democratic league of independent unions) and, finally, MOSZ (national works councils’ federation) for the entire industry.