The Poor, the Unemployed and the Public Worker – A Comparative Essay on National Unemployment Policies Contribution to Deepening Poverty

The aim of this article is to discuss the relation between a state’s unemployment and social policies with an eye on rights and duties declared in the European Social Charter and the Revised European Social Charter. First a summary is given to major international human right instruments’ approach to forced labor in connection with public work programs, followed by an introduction to Article 1(2) of the European Social Charter and its interpretation by the European Committee of Social Rights. This section will also give a short comparative analysis on the unemployment policies of selected EU Member States. The second half of the article is dedicated to the past and present of the Hungarian public work program and its critical analysis.