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BOX-FOLDER-REPORT: 29-3-88
TITLE:             Workers' Councils in Hungary
BY:                
DATE:              1956-12-12
COUNTRY:           Hungary
ORIGINAL SUBJECT:  ERS
THEMATIC SUBJECTS: Hungary--1956 Revolution, Strikes, Political Persecution

--- Begin ---

“E” DIST

FROM THE EVALUATION AND RESEARCH SECTION	BACKGROUND REPORT

/Hungarian Research/	12 December 1956

WORKERS´ COUNCILS IN HUNGARY

On December 9 1956 the KADAR government ordered the Immediate
dissolution of the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council and all the
regional workers´ councils. In connection with the formation of
the workers´ councils and their activities, Hungarian Research
supplies the following information:

1./ FirstPhasegftheRevolution/0ctober23to November 4./

The first workers´ council was formed in the afternoon of October
26 1956, at the BUDAPEST "Egyesult Izzo."

Simultaneously the Central Committee of the Hungarian Workers´
Party declared that it approves the election of factory worker
committees with the collaboration of Trade Union organs. 
Following this, also on October 26, the presidium of the National
Council of Trade Unions proposed in a resolution to the workers
and employees that they should start the formation of workers´
administration in the factories, enterprises, mines and all
other places of work, and elect workers´ councils.

The resolution of the National Council of Trade Unions 
contained details of the workers´ councils´ tasks. On the evening of
October 26, Radio KOSSUTH stressed the importance of the 
Workers´ councils and mentioned that the Central Committee´s 
resolution on the forming of the workers´ councils was not the result
of a debate of a few hours, but had been ripening since the July
1956 resolution of the Central Committee of the Hungarian
Worker´ s Party.

Since, because of the revolutionary events, the majority of
workers did not appear at their place of work, the workers 
formed provisional workers´ councils only.

On October 27 Radio KOSSUTH announced at noon the communication
of the National Association of Trade Unions which emphasized
that from then on the enterprises would be directed by the
workers´ councils, and by this the control of the enterprises
by the people was completed.
--------------------------------------------------------------

[*] This succeeds background report on the same subject issued by
Evaluation and Research Section November 24.

[page 2]

Later in the day, Radio KOSSUTH announced that reports were
coming in from all over the country of the formation of
enterprise workshop workers´ councils.

In his radio speech at 1725 on October 28, Imre NAGY 
emphasized that the government approved the creation of the workers´
councils.

It is evident that by supporting the workers´ councils, the
government aimed in the first place to gain popularity among
the workers. Signs show that these workers. councils may
remain as directing organs in the enterprises in the regime
which is developing from the present crisis.

2./ Second Phase of the Revolution /November4 to November 22./

After the second Soviet intervention, the workers´ councils
did not give any sign for a few days. Although the KADAR 
government, in its first declaration on November 4, promised that the
factories would be managed by the workers, it was not explicit
on the position of the workers´ councils. In its November 6 
declaration, the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist
Workers Party acknowledged the existence of the workers´ councils,
but did not say anything on their activities.

It seems that during the first week, the KADAR government, 
unable to dissolve the workers´ councils, tried at least to push
them into the background into an exclusively consultative role.

Events showed that the workers´ councils were not satisfied
with such a role, and in the course of the strike their power
increased considerably. From November 12, more and more appeals
of the workers´ councils gained space in the radio, demanding
the abolition of norms, wage increases and assurances on the
right to strike.

On November 12, the National Association of the Hungarian Free
Trade Unions published a proposal on the election of workers
councils. This proposal conforms generally with the decree
brought on November 21,

On November 13, the KADAR government sanctioned the proposition
of the Trade Unions and ordered the factories to elect, within
three weeks after work is resumed, permanent workers´ councils
in place of the provisonal ones. Statements by members of the
government in this connection asked the workers not to elect
"counter-revolutionary" elements in the workers councils.

Making use of the government´ s agreement, the workers´ councils
resumed their activities all over the country. On November 13

[page 3]

the BUDAPEST workers´ councils held a meeting in UJPEST and set
up the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council, which from its 
beginning played a leading role in forming the point of view of all
the workers.

On November 14 the BUDAPEST Central Workers Council presented
a list of demands to the government consisting of the following
eight points:

1. Re-appointment of Imre NAGY as Premier;
2. Former State Security men to be barred from the new police
squads, and a guarantee that the new police will not be
used for Party purposes;

3. Release of freedom fighters, including Pal MALETER;
4. Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary;
5. Guarantee that the radio and the press will speak the truth;
6. End of the one-party system and free elections as soon as
possible;
7. Trade agreements to be published and disadvantageous agreements
cancelled.
8. Deportations to be stopped.

Prime minister KADAR conferred with the delegation of the Budapest
Central Workers´ Council on November 14. According to a statement
issued on the conference and published by "Nepszabadsag" on 
November 15, KADAR accepted the demands with certain restrictions,
but his address was phrased ambiguously and could be interpreted
in different ways. The same applied to the statements made by
the other ministers. Despite this, the workers councils 
announced that they would resume work conditionally and at the same
time continue their negotiations with the government. /In reality
only approximately 30 per cent of the workers resumed work and
most of them did repair works only. The proportion of miners who
resumed work was even smaller: instead of the normal daily 
out-put of 7O-8O,000 tons, the coal output was 5-10,000 tons./

Aside from their demands, the workers´ councils began to
strengthen their organizations and to centralize them. Therefore
it was decided, on the initiative of the Budapest Central
Workers´ Council, to convene a meeting for November 21 to which
all the provincial workers councils were invited. The purpose
of the meeting would have been the formation of a "Workers
Parliament," Soviet troops, however, prevented the holding of
this meetings As an answer, the workers councils issued an 
appeal for a 48-hour general strike /with the exception of workers
in food supply, transport and building./ This appeal was 
followed throughout the country.

On the same day, November 21, after the ban on the general meeting,
the workers´ councils sent a further delegation to the government,
which handed over to KADAR the five demands of the councils:

[page 4]

1. The government should recognize the workers´ councils as
the only competent negotiating body representing the workers´
interests.

2. The government ought to resume negotiations with the
workers councils on November 24 at the latest.

3. The bases of the negotiations to be the eight points
introduced by the workers´ councils.

4. The government should commit itself to inform the press in
accordance with truth.

5. The government should release immediately all the political
prisoners and bring back the deportees.

The above demands were completed by an announcement that if the
government did not comply with the first point by November 22,
the strike would be continued beyond the 48-hours.

It can be presumed that a compromise was effected between the
government and the workers´ councils, as on the morning of
November 22 it was announced that the government acknowledged the
Budapest Workers´ Council as a "negotiating body" and agreed
that the radio should publish its communiques. Therefore, the
Council called upon the workers to resume work conditionally.

Despite this announcement, the government /or the Russian
Command/ continued to do everything to make things more difficult
for the workers. Besides the "hunger policy," several leading
members of the Budapest and provincial workers´ councils were
arrested /and released after 24 hours/ with the purpose of
thwarting the workers´ councils´ activities by methods of intimidation.

PRESIDIUM DECREE ON WORKERS´COUNCILS

Yielding to general pressure, the Presidium issued a decree on
November 21 on the functioning of the workers´ councils. Although
it contained far less than the workers demanded, it was of
considerable significance. It is here examined from two aspects,
economic and political.

1. Economic Aspect

In the economic field the workers´ councils were to "direct all
the activities of the factory."

This fulfilled the demand, urged for many months, that the
centralized, bureaucratic economic management should be
discontinued and the independence of the factories guaranteed. A number of
regulations on this subject were already issued before the
revolution. For example: 22 factories individually prepared their

[page 5]

second five-year plan /April 1 1956./; the largest engineering
factories were allowed to manage their export business
themselves /May 17 1956./; planning was simplified, and of more than
100 central planning indices only a few were left, /June 24./

In this field the decree went as far as possible, only the
investment program being taken out of the hands of the workers´
councils. The state would decide what percentage of the profit
the factory could keep and how much it had to give to the state,
which was also some constraint.

2. Political Aspect

Compared to pre-revolution conditions, the change was even more
significant in the political field. Previously, even if greater
independence were given to the factories it did not mean that the
workers would receive more power: the factory was still directed
by the notorious "factory triangle" /manager, Party secretary and
the president of the factory committee./ Of these only one
represented the workers - - the president of the factory committee
/and then only in principle/ - - the other two represented the
authorities /Party and state./

This situation was completely changed by the formation of the
workers´ councils. These directly represented the workers of the
factory, to face the manager appointed by the state.

The workers´ councils demanded that the managers should also "be
elected by them. If this were realized, the inner life of the
factories would be entirely controlled by the workers´ councils.

But the increased activities of the workers´ councils demanded
the necessity of a communal, central organ. In any case, if
economic policy was to be decided by the workers´ councils, it
was necessary that there should be some central direction in
this field. This central direction might come from the government
/this is what the KADAR government wanted/ but it would be much
simpler economically if decided by the central organ of the
workers´ councils /which is what the workers´ councils wanted./

But if such a central workers´ organ were formed, it could be
imagined to form a state within a state and a threat to the
authority of the government.

Workers Councils´ Opinions on the Decree.

Two months before the revolution the decree would have been
received with unanimous enthusiasm. In the November circumstances,
however, it was rather retrograde.

The workers´ councils were by then primarily playing a political
role; the decree, however, gave them only economic authority,

[page 6]

and that only within the factories.

The fact that the workers stuck to their demands after the
issuing of the decree of November 21 showed that the workers´ councils
were continuing to claim political power for themselves and were
concerned only secondarily with economic demands.

Apart from this, the workers´ councils also disagreed on the
economic points of the decree: they demanded that the manager
should not be appointed by the state but elected by the workers´
council; they demanded that the decree should insure the right
to strike; that those institutions should also be permitted to
elect workers´ councils which were prohibited from doing so in
the decree" /railways, postal service, transport/; etc..

All these demands indicated that the workers´ councils
Unchanged-ly and openly stood by the demands of the revolution.

3./ Third Phase of the Revolution /November 23 to December 9/.

The November 22 agreement was the last in which the government
gave concessions to the workers´ councils, and they were merely
sham concessions[*] The government did not fulfil its promises.

From November 23 onwards the policy of the government toward the
workers´ councils changed for the worse. This date coincides with
the aggravation of the political situation /deportation of Imre
NAGY and his companions./

At the beginning the aim of the government was to bring discredit
on the workers´ councils. Through the radio it started a veritable
campaign of slander against the members of workers´ councils,
aiming to drive a wedge between the workers and the councils.
"Nepszabadsag". /official organ of the Hungarian Socialist Workers´
Party/ also joined this campaign. Its lead article of November 23
accused the members of workers councils of ousting old Communists
from leading positions in order to get well-paid jobs themselves.
On November 24 the BUDAPEST X. Council distributed leaflets
accusing some members of the Central Workers´ Council of Fascism.

The government also tried to apply direct threats: it daily
arrested leaders of workers´ councils, and in some cases the whole
council /for example the workers´ council of the OZD
Metallurgical Works on November 2h./, the majority of whose members were
released after having been detained for 24 to 48 hours.

Events have shown that in these days the aim of the government
was not so much to liquidate the central and regional workers´
councils as to try to win them over for its purposes. The
government also attempted to play off the trade unions against the
workers´ councils. The newly set up ´free trade unions´ daily

[page 7]

announced their demands over the radio (wage and social claims
exclusively) and the government harried to fulfil these to increase
the prestige of the trade unions in front of the workers. At the
same time "Nepakarat" /daily organ of the trade unions/ strongly
condemned the workers´ councils in its November 24 issue,
declaring they were not satisfied with having a leading role in
production but also wanted to play an important part as political organs
and to safeguard the interests of the workers.

All the efforts of the government failed, however, owing to the
resistance of the workers. The power of the BUDAPEST Central
Workers´ Council grew and in the provinces regional workers´
councils were set up, i.e. the central organs of the workers´
councils of a town, county or industrial center. The provincial
regional workers´ councils /Amalgamated Workers´ Council of the
TATABANYA Coalmines; Central Workers´ Council of the Borsod
Coalmining Trust; Amalgamated Workers´ Council of the DOROG Works;
Amalgamated Workers´ Council of the PECS Works, etc./ announced
on November 24 and 25 that they supported the BUDAPEST Central
Workers Council, associated themselves with its demands and
aknowledged its leadership as the central organ of the workers.

Thus strengthened, the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council held
negotiations with the government on November 25. According to a
communiqué issued on the negotiations, representatives of the
Central Workers´ Council emphasized that its members were not
Fascist counter-revolutionaries but the sole representatives
of the power of the workers. They demanded that the militia
should be enlarged with workers´ and that trade unions leaders
should be re-elected in a democratic way.

Due to the deportation of Imre NAGY and his companions a certain
tension arose between the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council and
the factory workers´ councils. The latter /CSSPEL, miners/
demanded an immediate strike, but the Central Workers´ Council
rejected this and announced that it would again negotiate with
the government on November 26 and raise the Imre NAGY question.
The basis for the discussions, according to the communiqué of
the Central Workers´ Council, would be the eight points of
November I4, plus the request of the Central Workers´ Council to
start a daily newspaper.

Just as the government was unsuccessful in winning over the
Workers´ councils, so it also failed to play off the trade unions
against the workers´ councils. Factory trade union organs had
in fact ceased to exist, so that the central leadership of the
trade unions had no mass basis. Therefore trade union leaders
started negotiations with the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council,
at which they accepted the proposals of the latter and announced
that trade union leaders would be re-elected in a democratic way.
The new members /Miklos SOMOGYI, Odon KISHAZI, Miklos WAS-WITTEG/,

[page 8]

re-elected on December 3, were a guarantee to the Central Workers´
Council that He trade unions really meant to safeguard the
interests of the workers.

Besides the support of the workers, the position of the BUDAPEST
Central Workers´ Council was considerably strengthened by the
fact that the Revolutionary Committee of Intellectuals /President:
Zoltan KODALY/ and the Revolutionary Committee of the University
supported its demands/ and acknowledged it as the sole rightful
representative of the workers. Yet by that time the government
had ended its policy of winning over the BUDAPEST Central Workers´
Council for its own purpose and instead started to liquidate it.

From November 26 onwards the radio broadcast only those
announcements of the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council which called upon
the workers to continue work, thus violating the November 22
agreement.

Also on November 26 KADAR delivered a strong, provocative speech
in which he branded the whole freedom fight a counter-revolutionary
movement and announced the intended liquidation of existing´
counter-revolutionaries.´ The negotiations between the BUDAPEST Central
Workers´ Council and KADAR, fixed for November 26, did not take
place.

The most recent meeting between the government and the BUDAPEST
Central Workers´ Council was held on December 2, at which KADAR
rejected all the demands of the workers´ councils, refused their
request to send a delegation to Imre NAGY, to start an independent
daily and to modify the decree on the workers´ councils. At the
same time the arrest of members of workers´ councils grew to
considerable proportions- An increasing number of leaflets calling
for strikes appeared in the capital and the atmosphere grew more
tense.

4./ Liquidation of Central and Regional Workers´ Councils.

On December 8 the provisional Central Committee of the Hungarian
Socialist Workers´ Party issued a resolution in which it admitted
for the first time that the government was afraid of the workers´
councils as they might take over the actual ruling of the country.
The first two points of the resolution, on the most important
tasks of the Party, deal with the question of the workers´ councils.

I. "Party organizations and members must repel the
counter-revolutionary attempt by which, with the help of the workers´
councils and partly by misleading them, partly through its
own representatives smuggled in among the workers´ councils,
the counter-revolution wants to wrench the power from the
hands of the legal organs of the people´s republican state
power."

[page 9]

II. "Factory workers must also be helped in purging their
Workers´ councils of unsuitable demagogues, declassified
and, in some cases, Fascist elements."

These two points of the resolution fully explain the arrests
of December 5 and 6, The provisional Central Committee of the
Hungarian Socialist Workers´ Party met on December 2, 3 and 5.
As the large-scale arrest of members of the workers´ councils
was started on December 5, it is most likely that the action
was decided by the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist
Workers´ Party. The Party resolved to take decisive steps against
the workers´ councils.

The BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council replied to the first
arrests with a proclamation, and the workers of many BUDAPEST and
provincial factories stopped work.

On Thursday, December 6, the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council
handed a proclamation to the KADAR government, protesting against
the arrest of members of the workers´ councils. The text of the
proclamation was posted in factories. It contained, among others,
the following:

"It appears that an organized hunt has been started against the
workers´ councils throughout the country.

"If this continues, we lose the only possibility to restore order
and create a normal life.

"If this continues, the confidence of workers will be lost
completely and those who direct pro-vocations will reach their goal of
turning the workers´ class definitely against the government.

"The end will be a general strike, bloodshed and a new national
tragedy.

"Our negotiations with the government did not bring the required
results.

"It appears that Janos KADAR does not have the power to oust
certain persons who are still around him and who are hated by the
workers.

"As we see it, the government does not build its power on the
workers´ councils, in spite of the promises by KADAR. The workers´
councils´ presidents and members who circulate our publications
are often arrested.

[page 10]

"The situation is that police drag away presidents or members of
workers´ councils during the night, without investigation or
bearing, from their homes, often on the ground of baseless
denunciations. It also happened that the entire workers´ council of a
factory had been arrested."

As the news of the arrests the workers of numerous BUDAPEST and
provincial factories launched protest strikes.

The BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council demanded a reply to its
proclamation by 0800 hours on Friday morning through Radio
BUDAPEST. No reply was made.

The situation of the BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council was not
easy. It did not want to revive the strike as this would give an
opportunity to the government to ask for Soviet help. Yet the
government´s constant provocation through arrests created an
atmosphere in which it was almost impossible to prevent strikes.

Following unsuccessful negotiations with KADAR on December 8 the
BUDAPEST Central Workers´ Council worked out a plan of which
probably the most important aspect was the 48-hour strike, due
to last from 2400 hours on December 10 until 2400 hours on December
12. The resolution said the government had ignored a statement
by the council about the arrests and gave no answer to it, "thus
proving that it ignores the entity of Hungarian workers and their
chosen representatives. Meanwhile they arrest and take away the
presidents and members of workers´ councils."

In this situation the government ordered the liquidation of all
central and regional workers´ councils. In the evening of December
9 it issued a statement that the counter-revolution was trying
to use the workers´ organs, the workers´ councils in particular,
for its own purposes. In spite of government warnings, district
organs of workers´ councils had been set up "At the national
conference held illegally during the past few days the majority
of BUDAPEST workers´ councils incited to bloodshed, armed
provocation and strike." Therefore the government terminated the
functioning of these councils with immediate effect.

End.

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