Hungary ‘slave laws’ sparks protests in Budapest

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday showed no signs of heeding US and European Union warnings to rein in his "illiberal state," instead introducing new laws that critics say will tighten his grip on power.

Hundreds of protesters marched through Budapest and gathered at the parliament building late into Wednesday night, after Orban's hardline Fidesz party pushed through legislation allowing employers to ask their workers to take on up to 400 hours' overtime per year.

Police used tear gas against crowds on the steps of the parliament building on Wednesday night as crowds gathered.

Opposition politicians had created chaos inside, blocking stairways and blowing whistles to disrupt the votes.

They were also angry over a second vote to create a new system of administrative courts controlled by the minister of justice, which critics fear will not be independent.

Hundreds of protesters - one estimate suggested up to 2,000 - gathered outside the building late on Wednesday to protest against the "slave labor" amendment, while hundreds of police protected the entrance.

It followed a weekend protest over the proposed change, where crowds gathered calling for higher minimum wages, rather than an increase in overtime.

In Hungary, the law previously allowed for companies to demand a maximum of 250 hours of overtime in a given year.

But for someone who works eight-hour days, the new amount of 400 hours is the equivalent of an hour of extra labor every day, an extra day's work every week, or 50 extra days each year.

Hungary's parliament was thrown into scenes of turmoil following the vote on the new legislation, with opposition lawmakers sounding air horns and angrily confronting the Prime Minister.

Since Orban's populist Fidesz Party swept into power in 2010 and most recently won a landslide victory in April this year, it has come under increasing fire from the European Union over its crackdowns on democratic institutions.

Earlier this year, the European Parliament took the unprecedented decision to trigger Article 7 - a disciplinary process - against Hungary over its erosion of democratic norms that spanned everything from the media to migrants.