Trade unions across the entire country, including the ČMKOS confederation, have issued a strike alert as a quick run-through of the reform leads to an obvious conclusion: The Czech Republic will not be in good shape, on the contrary, it will be completely out of shape if this reform is introduced.

The package will impact all citizens in the Czech Republic, especially workers and pensioners. Its main elements are:

  • Devalued income due to high inflation
  • Reluctance to raise the minimum wage
  • Wage cuts in the public sector
  • Increased VAT and property taxes
  • Removal of tax exemptions and rebates
  • Reduced social benefits for workers, including sick leave
  • Increased retirement age and lower pensions
  • Reduced access to and reduced advantages of early retirement
  • Elimination of subsidies to industries, including at-risk companies
  • More expensive energy
According to trade union analysts, this package will reduce the income of an average Czech family (two adults and one child) by 17-20% per year. This loss of purchasing power would come on top of real wage losses caused by one of the highest inflation rates and energy prices in the EU, which have hit Czech workers hard over the last couple of years.

The government is breaking its own election promises to fight inflation, and the social partners were only made aware of the reform through the press. This approach by the government is totally unacceptable to the trade unions.

IndustriAll Europe Deputy General Secretary, Isabelle Barthès, is shocked by the reform package:

“This reform is designed to worsen the cost-of-living crisis that is creating inequalities and working poor across Europe. The Czech government, as an EU Member State, should instead respect the principles of social dialogue in the Treaties and prepare to transpose the Minimum Wage Directive to ensure adequate pay and living standards for all workers.

We stand in solidarity with our trade union colleagues in the Czech Republic who oppose this austerity reform.”

OS KOVO welcomes solidarity letters from sister unions across Europe to be emailed to sakarova.dana@cmkos.cz