Prague, Sept 12 (CTK) – The Czech government parties agreed yesterday on a 15-percent pay rise for teachers and a 10-percent pay rise for other employees in the public sector as of November, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) writes on Twitter. Photo: Pexels
This means that Sobotka’s outgoing government met the demands set by the trade unions, which otherwise threatened to go on strike.
The leaders of the CSSD, the ANO movement and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) discussed the salaries in the public sector this early morning shortly before a meeting of their cabinet that is to start dealing with the 2018 state budget bill today.
The government wants to present the 2018 budget bill at a meeting of the tripartite council, including also representatives of the trade unions and employers, next Monday. The government is to send the budget bill to the Chamber of Deputies by the end of September.
The government coalition has not reached an agreement on an increase in the next year’s budget for universities and the negotiations will continue in the next few days, KDU-CSL chairman Pavel Belobradek told journalists.
Czech university rectors have called for additional 4.5 billion crowns for their universities.
Belobradek said he considered the demand justified. He said it is unacceptable for the university budget to be at the same level as ten years ago. The state should give the universities at least an extra three billion crowns in 2018, he added.
Finance Minister Ivan Pilny (ANO) said last week that there is not enough money in the budget to meet all the pay rise demands. He said ministries would have to give a part of the finances from their reserves for this purpose.
The ministries promised to give one-fourth of their reserve funds, or about 10 billion crowns, for the pay rise, CSSD election leader Lubomir Zaoralek said today.
Pilny, Zaoralek and ANO leader Andrej Babis met a group of trade unionists headed by CMKOS umbrella union chairman Josef Stredula outside the Government Office this morning.
“You will get what you want,” Babis told the representatives of the trade unions.
Zaoralek said there should be money in the budget thanks to a higher economic growth.
In their campaigns before the October general election, practically all major parties support an increase in the salaries of teachers.
($1=21.641 crowns)
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