When we hear that it is a union, the members of the older generation flee the area with cautious elegance. For us, the trade union was not the community protecting our interests, but the extended hand of the MSZMP.

Undoubtedly, this is bad, but it is a strong conditioning, because today there are trade unions that really protect the interests of the employee, and moreover, membership is not mandatory. We only remember that it was mandatory to enter voluntarily and pay a membership fee. It is mandatory, since the socialist trade union protected our interests even when we did not want it, and in return the MSZMP also told us what our interests were.

It must be acknowledged that the trade union which operated in the West, which was the enemy of big capital, was terminated.

It is necessary to protect interests in a new way, although some of the traditional tasks of the community have remained, it is just a different way of fighting for the same goals.

This was also the opinion of the CÖF-CÖKA management when it entered into an alliance with the Egyenlő.hu community (which was once called the Democratic Trade Union of Commercial Workers). László Csizmadia, the founding president of CÖF-CÖKA, believes that

today the emphasis should not be placed on confrontation, but on cooperation.

- Trade unions also have a terrible past in Hungary. The movement was a bit similar to what is happening now in Ukraine, where people are forcibly conscripted into soldiers. The trade unions before the regime change had an insidious quality, rude interference, and if you are not a trade union member, you are not a regular person. At the time of the regime change, the "successors" of the old trade unions inherited considerable wealth, which they could never account for. Due to the bad past, the number of members of the trade unions has fallen, they cannot sustain themselves from the membership fees, and they would cease to exist without state support. That is why the state considers it an obligation to support trade unions acting in the interests of employees.

- It is a fact that the time of the traditionally militant, anti-capitalist unions is over, but at the same time, representing the interests of the employees would still be important... This is why new kinds of unions are needed. The focus should not be on opposition, on sharpening the opposites, not on taking people to the streets, at most when there are no other options left. Basically, cooperation should be sought which is in the interests of the employees, their families and the employers. To use a popular phrase

a win-win situation must be strived for, in which the owner benefits, the management benefits, and the employee and his family benefit as well.

That is why the Ejenlő.hu trade union chose "We row in one boat" . The interests of those involved can and should be harmonized. The caring state can support both the employer and the employee, as well as the workers' families, through legislation and other means.

"That's the theory, but what about the practice?"

- Egyenlő.hu is working on this and has already proven that their aspiration is not an impossible mission. It should be remembered that, based on the proposal of the CÖF-CÖKA, they managed to achieve last year before Christmas that 17 large companies decided to be closed on December 24th, to ensure that their employees also had an undisturbed Christmas Eve so that they could prepare for the big holiday with their families. This was a huge achievement. However, this is not the end of the work, we have new ideas. For example

the owners could ensure that once a month, up to a certain limit, they can buy from the store where they work at cost price.

This means no financial loss for the owner or the state. To the former, this is because he would give the goods for the price he bought them for, and the latter would receive the VAT in the same way as in the case of other buyers. For this, of course, the law needs to be amended, and Egyenlő.hu and CÖF-CÖKA are currently working on this.

– All this sounds nice, but not all multi partners are in the cooperation. Here, for example, is Spar, which complained to Hungary about the special tax, claiming that the company is losing money because of it.

– If I were the owner of Spar, of course I wouldn't be happy about the special tax either, but let's not forget that he has been pushing the profits from here to his own central company for decades. They should consider the reasons for the emergency. Here was the covid, here was the inflation, meanwhile the other, similar companies are quite profitable, even with the special tax. Don't push the bike too far because, as I said, "We row in the same boat".

Photo: civilek.info