Monthly salaries in the public sector in the Czech Republic will rise by CZK 1,400 next year, following an agreement between the government and trade unions. Prime Minister Petr Fiala and CMKOS umbrella union chairman Josef Stredula announced the deal to journalists yesterday, calling the deal a good compromise.
The trade unions will now cancel their strike alert, as the reason for it is gone, Stredula said.
The agreement concerns pay grades one to four. Regarding grade five, which concerns school workers, the government will continue negotiating with the unions on how exactly to distribute the wage funds, said Fiala (ODS).
Yesterday’s agreement should not affect the strike announced by the judiciary unions, as the deal applies to workers whose unions are represented in the Bohemian-Moravian Trade Unions Confederation (CMKOS).
Fiala said the agreement is a good solution acceptable for the state budget.
He said it was also fair that if salaries in all pay groups were increased by the same amount, the lowest paid civil servants would see their salaries rise the fastest in relative terms.
“Neither side is walking away with an absolute victory, but we are walking away with a fair deal that both sides can be happy with,” Stredula said. He welcomed the fact that for the lowest-paid public employees, the agreement will mean an 11.5% pay rise.
“I believe that my colleagues in the higher (pay) categories will also accept that the amount is the same for everyone. This means that none of those will get nothing,” the union leader added.
Fiala said the agreement could help reduce tensions in society.
“We have also agreed that both sides will do more to positively show the results of people who work for the state, so that it can be seen that they are also of great importance to society,” Fiala said.
In this context, Stredula recalled the work of employees of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMU) who managed to predict the September floods. Thanks to their work, according to Stredula, human lives were saved and flood damage was reduced.
Stredula also said that the trade unions would cancel the strike alert, adding that this was just a formality because it was declared due to the lack of an agreement on salary rises, which has now been concluded.
Eight of the 13 public sector unions, which are represented by CMKOS, are currently on strike alert.
