The Hungarian Labor Inspectorate (OMMF)
The Hungarian Labor Inspectorate (OMMF)
1051 Budapest, Roosevelt tér 7-8. (Postal address: 1399 Budapest, P.O.Box 639). Phone: 474-9428, 474-9414 (direct line). Fax: 474-9417 (direct line). E-mail: ommf@elender.hu Director General: Dr. András Békés.
OMMF is a national agency under the supervision of the Minister of Health and Social Affairs.
Occupational safety inspection is the chief task of OMMF which employs dedicated labor inspectors with the usual powers under international labor conventions (ILO Conventions 81 and 129). The Inspectorate’s competence covers almost the whole of the economy including manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and the public sector. The only exceptions are mining, the armed forces, radiation protection, and the use of nuclear energy.
Employment Inspection. The Labor Inspectorate is also responsible for the inspection of the general conditions of labor and of illicit employment. These areas include discrimination in employment, of women, young people and the disabled, working hours and overtime, resting hours and paid leaves, minimum wages, the employment of foreigners, employment etc.) Approximately 50% of the Labor Inspectorate’s work concerns employment inspection, while 50% concerns safety inspection.
The structure of the Labor Inspectorate is regional; there are 20 local inspectorates in the 19 counties and the capital. Their professional control is exercised by the headquarters of OMMF.
Particularly hazardous sectors in Hungary are metallurgy, construction and the manufacture of building materials, power generation, the chemical and the pharmaceutical industries, and agriculture. Most cases of non-compliance are found in the building industry, trading, and catering. Sensitive areas of employment are the work of women and young people, working hours and overtime, minimal wages, the employment of foreigners and the lack of written contracts.
The inspectors OMMF visited 43,241 employers in 1998, and took action in more than 180 thousand cases altogether, including the application of financial sanctions totaling more than HUF 1,131 million.
