Hungarian companies form union against multis

Hungarian companies established a new union called the Association of Those Harmed by Multinational Companies (Multinacionális Cégek Károsultjainak Egyesülete) last week with the aim of protecting firms which serve multinational companies. The association has launched a website, www.multik.hu, where its activities can be followed.

In the opinion of the union, the one-sided marketing policies of the multinationals, and the manner through which they try to improve their market share destroy Hungarian transporters and entrepreneurs on purpose. In addition, the new trade laws that became effective last year fail to adequately regulate them. Because of this, the union demands more efficient and stricter methods for protecting their interests, and it also provides for ongoing negotiations between affected parties.

The head of the union, Zsuzsa Kádár Kalmárné, referred to her personal experience as an example of the problems Hungarian companies face. She said that her company delivered economic washing powder to a multinational hypermarket chain, and its turnover was Ft 1 billion (€3.9 million). During the business relationship, the multinational firm broke the agreement several times, aiming to drastically reduce the previously arranged prices and ordering a considerably smaller amount of items than those originally agreed upon, which caused enormous damages to the Hungarian company. This is an example of what the union would seek to avoid.