Budapest, June 18 (MTI) – Hungary’s judges will be granted a five percent pay rise in October, to be followed by another five percent in January next year, and a further five percent in January 2018, justice minister László Trócsányi said in an interview to MTI, published on Saturday.
Trócsányi noted that judges’ salaries have not been raised “for a very long time” and added that if salaries are low, those with the best qualifications will choose different professions.
“A judge’s career should be attractive; to achieve that, we must provide equitable pay”, he said.
In a reaction to the minister’s announcement, the opposition Socialists said that offering a five percent raise to judges was “shamefully meagre”. Socialist MP Gergely Bárándy argued in a statement that judges’ salaries were increased under a Socialist government for the last time, back in the mid-2000’s and by 50 percent.