The employees of the Teva Gyógyszergyár Zrt. in Debrecen demonstrated for a new wage agreement on Tuesday at the call of the Biogal Union of Chemical Workers, about 300 workers expressed their dissatisfaction near the factory.
Erzsébet Szabóné Lakatos, the local secretary of the VDSZ, told MTI: they gathered because they are all affected by runaway inflation and increased energy prices, and therefore a new wage agreement is needed.
Tamás Székely, the national president of the VDSZ, added: new wage compensation is needed because this year’s wage agreement has lost its real value due to high inflation. According to the latest KSH data, inflation in September was 20.1 percent, which was not followed by this year’s wage increase. Based on the export data, the company has the opportunity to give an acceptable wage increase – he emphasized.
He added that there was a fruitless meeting between the union and the management in August, which is why they decided on the current demonstration.
Csilla Ferenczi, Teva’s communications manager, wrote in a letter sent to the demonstrators that it is important for Teva to ensure the well-being of its employees and competitive employment conditions. They are aware of the economic challenges that also affect their employees since as a company present in more than 60 countries around the world, they experience similar difficulties everywhere.
They announced that they have a wage agreement valid for 2022, which was implemented in two stages. They expressed their hope that they will continue to work together to achieve the site’s goals, both for the benefit of the employees and the 200 million patients worldwide who rely on Teva’s medicines.
Tamás Székely declared that they would continue the demonstration.
According to public company data, Teva Pharmaceuticals’ sales revenue last year was HUF 206 billion, and in 2020 HUF 224 billion. The export revenue was HUF 170 million in 2021, and HUF 188 million in 2020. The taxable profit was HUF 142 million last year, after HUF 77 million the previous year. The average number of employees of the company was 1928 in 2021.
MTI
Photos: Debreceni Nap
