“What’s more, this is not easy work, it is physically and mentally tiring. (…) They bear the sort of burden that would justify them receiving more attention. (…) And this is precisely why we are constantly reaching out to those social groups whose difficult situation we can help.”
Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister
Thanks to the continually strengthening Hungarian economy and the jointly undertaken social responsibility, we can mobilize an ever-greater resource pool to expand the employment of people with reduced working capacity. This is the type of national economic interest where the interests of the largest corporate enterprises, domestic SMEs and the state all converge.
A recent study conducted in Hungary shows that employees with reduced working capacity not only have a positive impact on the workplace community but they also represent value economically speaking since workers active in this form have lower levels of fluctuation, they are extremely reliable and they are particularly capable of handling monotony.
It is not only the state-owned companies KÉZMŰ-ERFO-FŐKEFE and SZEFO, which employ nearly 10,000 people, that prove that the economic added value of employees with reduced working capacity is outstanding, but enterprises in the private sector that have acquired experience in this area similarly agree. There is no better proof of this than the fact that more than 300 businesses contract the state companies to manufacture products, including top international brands.
Although over the past few years there has been significant growth in this employment form, since there was nearly a doubling in the proportion of employed in just a few years, according to estimates there are still close to 150,000 who, with the right support, could be given employment.
In 2020, we would like to bind even more closely the social responsibility of the market and the state sector in the social sphere, too, channelling into this outstanding international expertise in the field. The first such occasion is the ÉrtékPlacc International Conference in Castle Garden Bazaar on 17-18 January 2020.
However, ÉrtékPlacc is not merely a conference. It is at the same time a common virtual and physical space in the course of which we travel the length and breadth of the country in order to create a forum where those concerned and employers can meet each other, where anyone – in just the same way as in a market – can look at, feel or try out those products and services produced to the very highest standards by people with reduced working capacity.
We really look forward to meeting you at an ÉrtékPlacc!
Attila Fülöp
Ministry of Human Capacities
State Secretary with Responsibility for Social Affairs
