The national consultation also assists with the protection of job creation grants as Brussels, with reference to competition neutrality, may also attack the corporate investment programme, among others, Péter Cseresnyés, State Secretary for Labour Market and Training at the Ministry for National Economy said at a press conference held on Wednesday.

He stressed that the right to national sovereignty is behind every one of the questions of the national consultation, and there is therefore a need for clear answers in order to ward off the attacks. According to the State Secretary, attacks may also be levelled at the governmental measures which seek to promote employment, such as the public works schemes, the job protection programme and the corporate investment programme.

Mr Cseresnyés highlighted that the job creation programmes are successful: the number of people in employment has increased by 700 thousand in recent years, and two thirds of them have found employment in the competitive sector which requires qualified experts in increasingly large numbers.

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He added that the perception of the public works schemes has greatly improved as it is now clear that, instead of benefits, they provide a living through work and may help participants move on to the primary labour market. The job protection programme offering reductions in employment-related contributions has helped hundreds of thousands at a disadvantage from the viewpoint of employment policy, such as school-leavers, the elderly and parents raising young children, to find employment. The corporate investment programme which was launched two years ago has created almost 1,500 jobs by supporting the technological developments of businesses and the enhancement of their efficiency, he listed.

The State Secretary also pointed out that the national consultation does not only serve to protect workers, but also businesses as the competitive disadvantage of Hungarian businesses can often only be countered with state grants.

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In answer to a question, the State Secretary said that the Government will soon launch a programme for the participants of the public works schemes, thanks to which tens of thousands of people may move on to the primary labour market.

(MTI)