Agnes, a Budapest schoolteacher, is among the many Hungarians hit hard by government reforms. Like most other teachers, she has been told to increase her classroom time from 20 to 22 hours a week with no extra pay. Aged 58, she retired early last year but has carried on working to supplement her pension and earn enough money to support herself and her two student daughters.

“What happens when I have to stop work, I don’t know,” says Agnes, who prefers not to give her full name. “Even now it is hard to make ends meet. Everything is becoming more expensive. Especially food and energy.”