Czech Republic
Confederations coordinate national protests over cost-of-living crisis
Czech Republic Slovak Republic
The trade union confederations of the Czech and Slovak Republics – CMKOS and KOZ – have called national demonstrations on 8 October to call for action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. They argue that their respective governments need to undertake urgent measures to support households in the face of soaring inflation and particularly high energy costs. They want to see increases in wages in general and particularly minimum wages and assurance that government budgets will include provisions to cover pay rises in public services.
Health unions react to government’s plan to freeze pay rates
The OSZSP health workers’ union and LOK-SČL doctors’ union organised a joint press conference on 29 September in response to the government’s intention not to increase health workers’ pay in 2023. The unions underlined the sacrifices that workers had made during the pandemic and that the government’s failure to deliver improved pay would create further problems in the recruitment and retention of staff. The unions are unconvinced by a government plan to offer bonuses instead of higher pay scales and they are calling for a 15% increase to pay rates. They also argue that the government had
Further action over pay planned as health union calls for 15% increase
EPSU affiliates joined the national rally over pay and prices organised by the CMKOS trade union confederation on 5 September. CMKOS is stressing that pay demands should be met as the current surge in inflation is not the result of higher wages. The confederation also wants to see measures to cap prices and tax excess profits and for the monthly minimum wage to be increased by CZK 2000 (€82) to CZK 18200 (€742). CMKOS has now called for a national demonstration in Prague on 8 October. Meanwhile, the OSZSP health union is demanding a 15% pay increase for all health workers in 2023. Negotiations
Union movements organise protests over surge in inflation
With inflation increasing rapidly across Europe, trade union movements are mobilising to highlight the cost-of-living challenges facing workers, their families as well as pensioners and students. Latest figures show prices rising at anything from 6.5% to nearly 23% a year in Europe with further increases predicted. The CMKOS confederation in the Czech Republic is calling for a national demonstration in Prague on 5 September while the ÖGB confederation in Austria is coordinating protests around the country on 17 September. In between these two, the GSEE private sector and ADEDY public sector
Strike threat secures pay negotiations
At the end of April the OSSOO state workers’ union issued a strike threat in order to put pressure on the government to negotiate on pay for workers in the Czech labour office. The union said that workers were facing heavily increased workloads as they were dealing with processing of refugees from Ukraine as well as compensation payments to cover for increased energy costs. Strike action was due to take place at the beginning of May but the government agreed to negotiations that are due to start on 25 May.
Civil service union reacts angrily to pay freeze
The OSSOO trade union representing public service workers has reacted angrily to the announcement that 30,000 civil servants will face a pay freeze this year. The union argues that this fails to recognise the efforts of state workers during the pandemic and the threat to living standards posed by large increases in energy and other costs. OSSOO is also protesting over the failure of the government to engage in any form of negotiation. The union is coordinating open letters from different groups of workers to their relevant minister raising the issue and highlighting the impact of the pay
Civil service unions sign new collective agreement
Civil service unions, including OSSOO representing state workers and those representing health, social care (OSZSP) and cultural workers, signed a new higher-level collective agreement on 4 October. The agreement will run from 1 January to 31 December 2022 with the possibility of an extension for a further year. The agreement covers a range of rights such as paid leave for personal reasons, so-called indisposition leave, and service- and age-related payments as well as invalidity and retirement pensions. The new agreement is not changed much from the previous one with some clarification
Health union exposes reality of COVID payments
The OSZSP health and social care union has revealed widespread problems with the COVID bonuses that should have been paid to staff across health and social care. The union managed to negotiate a range of different additional payments for hospital workers, paramedics, social care staff and other workers in these sectors. For example, healthcare professionals in hospitals can get up to CZK 25000 (EUR 975) a month (maximum CZK 75000, EUR 2920) and other hospital workers up to CZK 10000 (EUR 390) a month (maximum CZK 30000, EUR 1170). However, OSZSP says that workers have rarely got the higher
Union secures COVID payments for emergency medical workers
Following negotiations with the government, the OSZSP health union has won payments of up to CSK 120000 (€4650) for emergency medical staff. These workers weren’t covered by special payment negotiated for other groups of health staff, but the union pointed out that ambulance workers have faced massively increased workloads, with callouts increasing by more than a third, and in many cases the same level and type of work carried out by intensive care staff in hospitals.