Social services in the Czech Republic are currently short of 3,000 employees, and their unions are demanding a 10% pay rise for all workers in the sector, said representatives of the Health and Social Care Employees’ Trade Union at a press conference yesterday.
The Labour and Social Affairs Ministry has proposed a 7-10% pay rise for technical workers in social services, but not for care workers.
Last week, public sector unions issued a strike alert over the proposal. They have scheduled a meeting with government representatives before the end of August and plan to protest in the autumn if no agreement is reached.
“There is a shortage of staff not only in inpatient facilities but also in the field,” said Jana Hnykova, deputy head of the Health and Social Care Trade Union.
According to one example given by the union, a care worker with 18 years of experience has a salary of around CZK 23,000 after tax. In Germany, an equivalent worker would receive CZK 65,000-80,000 and free accommodation. The unions also point out that the sector is not attracting young people.
Last week, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs presented a proposal that would raise the base monthly pay of some public sector workers by between CZK 850 and CZK 1,220 per month, depending on their expertise and length of professional experience. This would apply to white-collar workers, cultural staff, technical workers in social services and health care, and non-teaching staff in the education sector.
Civil servants could see a pay rise of between CZK 1,130 and CZK 1,620. The pay scale should rise by 7-10%, which would cost the state budget CZK 4.6-6.5 billion by the end of the year.
However, Dagmar Zitnikova, chairwoman of the Health and Social Care Employees’ Trade Union, said the 7-10% increase from September would mean an annual increase of only 2.2-3.3%.
“The unions originally demanded a pay rise to cover inflation. Then we wanted 15%, but 10% is simply the minimum,” she added. In addition to caregivers in social services, she said salaries should also rise for nurses and doctors.
“This increase would not cost the state budget anything in the health and social services sector,” she added.
The healthcare sector in the Czech Republic is funded by public health insurance, which has about CZK 500 billion available this year. The Health Ministry previously said that hospitals spend about 60% on staff salaries, which is higher than in the West.
Social services are subsidised by the regions and the state budget.
Trade union representatives are due to meet ministers before the government finally approves next year’s state budget. Zitnikova said the date would be set after ministers returned from their holidays. “If we don’t reach an agreement with the government, we will definitely organise some protest actions in the autumn,” she warned.
