Under Pressure

The study examines the working conditions in the Central and Eastern European ICT industry and the economic development of this sector in recent decades, particularly since the political and economic upheavals of 1989, focusing on Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.

The study of these countries shows that workers in the Eastern European high-tech industry are exposed to enormous work pressure, combined with extremely flexible working time requirements and poor pay. It also shows the important role of migrant workers in the industry in Eastern Europe. At the same time, the study critically analyzes the economic development of the ICT industry - and shows that the economic and socio-political hopes associated with the development of the industry in Central and Eastern Europe have so far only been fulfilled in a few cases.