Report on the conference "Conditions of labourers and the employed in modern Hungary and alternative settlement of disputes"
This year due to the difficulties of pandemic situation, there are several conferences and meetings organized in virtual space, on online platform.
On 25th November 2020, a virtual meeting was held, it was the annual Gyula Rézler Conference, organized by Dr. Pál Péter Tóth, the senior researcher of Hungarian Demographic Research Institute of the Central Statistical Office.
Firstly, he paid tribute to the memory of Gyula Rézler in some words who was unobtrusive, just an external observer, usually.
The conference is held to commemorate his scientific oeuvre and remember his legacy. According to Dr. Pál Péter Tóth, Gyula Rézler was a sober-minded and sensitive at the same time, with open-mindedness towards the world and everything in it. Moreover, he was munificent; Rézler Gyula Foundation was established in consonance with his giving mentality (personality); the Foundation provides scholarships to learn abroad and do researches in the field of sociology.
Photo: Gyula Rézler Mediation Institute
In 2015, Rézler Gyula Prize was established to pay tribute to work of researchers who do something remarkable in the fields of labour sciences, social statistics and sociology, achieving results.
Dr. Pál Péter Tóth informed the participants about the prize-winners; this year two persons were awarded. One of them was György Csepeli professor emeritus whose oeuvre covers several successes and great appreciation in the respects of both Hungarian and international scientific work. The other awarded man was Prof. Tibor Valuch, PhD of Hungarian Academy of Sciences; he received Rézler Prize due to his resultful work, scientific achievement and high-standard career as a teacher and instructor.
According to the participants of the conference organized this year, it is quite important to maintain Rézler tradition, including Rézler Gyula Foundation; researches in groups of society, people living in deep social classes (with hard conditions) are really necessary because they came off badly, so we have to pay attention to their voices and needs. The other part of Rézler tradition covers endeavor in the field of mediation, to settle and solve controversies; Gyula Rézler made great efforts to work in that field as well, his work was appreciated - and awarded several prizes.
After greetings, two plenary sessions were held. The lecture by Attila Paládi Kovács focused on labourers' conditions, showing that the number of researches concerning labourers is decreasing, rather entrepreneurs came into foreground, threatening some workplaces (and raising political questions).
Gyula Rézler is considered as a volunteer in redefining the abstract of labourer (1938); it is based on the connection of class consciousness and mentality. Industrial labourers does not have property, they are without self-sufficiency, but they have self-identity, setting an example. In the period of the change of regime, however, some circumstances changed. Society became disappointed, many of its members became unemployed and the country ran into debt; social gap increased, independent economy decreased. Researches have to be continued because results are not good enough.
Photo: György Csepeli
After plenary lectures two parallel sessions of sections started. Tibor Valuch was the first speaker who held his lecture on employer's strategy, conditions of employment and stories of working-class families. The basis of his research was a survey on family history taken place in an iron factory of Ózd in the 20th century; employer's strategies were surveyed. Eszter Bartha was the second lecturer who spoke about labourers and the working class - it is her research field, too; Bartha's lecture focused on workers of large-scale industry as a new part of working class.
András Tóth, research worker of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, spoke about hidden and open conflicts as well as the roles or lack of trade unions and worker's representation (advocacy groups); there are 4 models of trade unions, namely cartel, business, the models of political parties and truth.
Péter Alabán (colleague of Eszterházy Károly University) held the next lecture on his research in Ózd, focusing on the processes of employment in the period of postindustrialization (in the 1990s). By his research, the processes of that period included crisis management, programs related to change of structure, spatial alterations and realignment of employment. Considering the process of alteration, we can see that middle-class became scarce on the level of social structure due to migration (but not depopulation); besides, decline of industry made the conditions of the town (municipality) worse.
The main issues of the other section covered alternative settlement of disputes, conflicts and conflict management, culture and art of dispute; how to settle disputes in the family, considering law concerning children and family law in a wider context, protection of interest is also included.
The Service of Alternative Dispute Resolution was introduced by Attila Kun. In addition, there was a presentation about company management, the connection of career and labour market, so, economic and public policy related aspects were also included.
All in all, Gyula Rézler Conference was quite exciting due to the high-standard lectures, the important issues and research results.
Registration for natural and legal persons:
free of charge / 12 months
Administration fee of registration reader card:
HUF 400 / 12 months
Daily card: HUF 1650 / day
Borrowing privileges in one library:
HUF 7800 / 12 months
HUF 5400 / 6 months
HUF 4000 / 3 months
Establishment of membership for using all branches simultaneously:
HUF 10000 / 12 months
HUF 7700 / 6 months
Discounts