August 2nd, 2012

Jobs activists invite Mária Schmidt for tour after museum director dubs Hungarian workers “unproductive, demanding, lazy” bums

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Leaders of the Jobs, Bread and Decent Wages (MKTB) movement have invited Mária Schmidt to go on a one-day study tour in Edelény, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, after the head of the House of Terror museum called Hungarian workers irresponsible, lazy, unproductive and demanding.

In a June 12 contribution to the political blog Mandiner, Schmidt wrote “those with whom we are competing are numerous, quick and very ambitious. Cheap, undemanding, well-skilled and productive labour is facing our workers, who are unproductive, very demanding, lazy and most of all unwilling to take responsibility”.

House of Terror spokesman Péter Hömöstrei said Schmidt will not be taking up the invitation.

The invitation remains open, said MKTB president Imre Komjáthi, because “dialogue is essential if we want to understand one another”.

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  • Viking

    If I and others here, would state what Mária Schmidt wrote, we would be called ‘anti-Hungarian’, but other rules applies for Fidesz top brass

  • Danny

    Hmm, well she’s got a point.

  • Baixo

    Hungarian workers are irresponsible, lazy, unproductive and demanding. Mária Schmidt just forgot to add corrupt, incompetent and worthless.

    • Danny

      And ‘genetically servile’.

      • Magyar

        Off course, which is why we had so many rebelions in our past, because we “like to serve”.

        Moron.

        @Baixo
        A Portugese favela dweller like you has no place to talk.

  • steve

    what an moron, I have lived and worked in 6 countries and managed people from all. I found Hungarians to be innovative, they do what they are told without insubordinate attitudes and get the job done even for the pittance they are paid. Try working in one of the more so called liberal EU countries and you will be pulling out your hair in frustration (red tape and unions). Well what can I say about the Indians, they say “yes sir and do totally the opposite and at the first opportunity laze around the corner, we and the foreign nationals can be happy with what they get here. Hungarians, keep up the good work!!!

    • Punisher

      If that were true, this country would be a global force like switzerland or Japan. But no, let the hard work to others, let others take the fall if something goes wrong, and besides let’s steal something in the process at the first chance.Ah, and don’t forget to complain, complain, and complain some more, after all, is the fault of the evil foreigners who are investing money in Hungary, the Jews, The blacks, the browns, the yellow, the pink, etc…..and even if there were as productive as you say, well, they never work together since this is a country of every man for himself, so who gives a flying f***???

    • Curious George

      @Steve – I do not know what countries you have managed in, or at what level. My initial impressions are that you are either a super-manager (which makes me wonder what you are doing in Hungary) or else, your standards are not much higher than the Hungarians which is why they have managed to pull wool over your eyes with their “innovation”. A third possibility is that you don’t know what to benchmark. Perhaps you could spend some time in the 20-30 countries where competitiveness and productivity are higher than Hungary. In my opinion, until the average Hungarian worker begins to accept personal responsibility, and the supervisor is able to overcome cultural hurdles to motivate, hold accountable & admonish (where necessary) his Hungarian subordinates without being ostracized, things will remain the same.

      I’d say you were spot on if you were talking about production workers in India. However, a person in the know once remarked to me “Watch out! China is exporting products for the world, while India is beginning to export executives and professionals for the world”. I’m beginning to think he was right when I look at how the business environment is changing globally. If I were you, I’d not get too comfortable on that seat.

      • Leto. مؤدّب

        Why don’t you just crawl back to your jungle where “things work”, monkey? To that jungle where the other monkeys accept personal responsibility, and the supervisor is able to overcome cultural hurdles to motivate, hold accountable & admonish (where necessary) his monkeys without being ostracized.

      • Curious George

        What?…And miss the sight of you drinking vinegar? :D :D

        • Leto. مؤدّب

          I don’t drink vinegar. I only sip it.

          • justasking

            @Leto,

            Oho, good comeback! :D

      • Focus on the bigger picture

        India may be exporting executives and proffesionals but one of the key ingredients missing is “innovation”. The Magyar may have been forced into corruption throughout the bad years, but, it was never lack of innovation. This is exactly what needs to be properly, positively and productively channeled within the new graduates. 10 % say they will never want to come back to Hungary after finding their future elsewhere in the world. Unacceptable. A 1-2% migration is the norm.India may be good at building proffesional robots but the Holy Cow cannot think outside the box.

        • Curious George

          You might be right about them being professional robots. I have not examined Indian productivity and capabilities which is why I’ll defer to the people or organizations whom I know have done so.
          I have however met, studied and compared companies in Central Europe (about 500 in Hungary alone) across 5 industry sectors to understand and learn about their productivity, efficiency and innovation and technology capabilities. I think the IMD global competitiveness survey ranking of 42 fairly reflects Hungary’s productivity and efficiency. Improving on this will be a very long and slow process,(at least a decade to move into the top 20) and it is not likely to happen if Hungarians don’t realize where they currently stand.

          • Leto. مؤدّب

            “about 500 in Hungary alone”

            How many were actually Hungarian companies, with fully Hungarian personnel and Hungarian capital?

          • Curious George

            Enough.

    • Viking

      steve says:
      August 2, 2012 at 4:23 pm

      I found Hungarians to be innovative, they do what they are told without insubordinate attitudes and get the job done even for the pittance they are paid
      —

      WoW!
      Want to share any of those workers of yours with me?

      Sadly I had to fire yet more 2 workers here in Balaton for stealing, again. Even if we pay maybe double compared to the competition
      So far we have taken away at least 10 stealing/incompetent workers since beginning of June (it is a seasonal business) and all are Hungarians…

    • spectator

      Steve, I may even willing to think, that you’ve manged Hungarians abroad, because then – and only then – you may be right.
      In my experience Hungarians work quite differently at home as they do somewhere else – “West” as we call it – so the assessment may even be true on both accounts, handled on the right place.

  • Vidra

    Maybe Schmidt has this perception because all the managers she knows are lazy, arrogant, unimaginative and incapable of taking decisions or motivating their staff. Always easier to blame the workers rather than the ones who are supposedly being paid to lead.

  • Focus on the bigger picture

    @ Steve – my sentiments concurr.

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