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Business NewsLabor dispute at Czech Airlines
In this week's economics report we take a look at the current labor dispute
at the national air carrier Czech Airlines (CSA). As if the war in Iraq
and the fear of SARS around the world isn't enough to shrink business for
airlines, CSA now has to deal with a labor dispute between management and
the pilots' association. The dispute between the two parties took a turn
for the worse last Wednesday when pilots' commenced a work slow-down
because of a deadlock in negotiations. The major roadblock is the issue of
new contracts for CSA pilots', the pilots' association is asking for
individual contracts for each pilot where the management of CSA is only
offering one contract which would cover all the employees of Czech
Airlines.
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Current AffairsCSA tries to stand up to low-cost carriers
A return air-ticket from Prague to London for slightly over 2,000 crowns?
No problem if you chose the right company and book early enough. Until
recently this would have been the wildest dream of any traveller.
Throughout the 1990s a return bus ticket was around twice the price. But
after low-cost airlines entered the market, they reduced air-ticket prices
to unbelievable lows. A few years ago, they hit the Czech market and more
are still coming. Among the low-cost carriers operating on the Czech
market are for example EasyJet, BMIbaby, Snowflake, SkyEurope and most
recently Germanwings, all of them tough competition for the Czech
Republic's flagship carrier Czech Airlines. Pavla Horakova spoke to Czech
Airlines' vice president for sales and marketing Vaclav Kral and began by
asking him how Czech Airlines was responding to the boom of low-cost
carriers on the Czech market.
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Business NewsBusiness News
The Czech government has delayed the planned sale of national power
producer CEZ until after it has drafted a new national energy policy. The
Czech Senate has approved a new law aimed at curbing tobacco promotion.
The European Central Bank has urged EU membership applicants to get their
economies in shape before joining eurozone. The Czech cabinet has scrapped
a contract awarded to a private company to build and operate a highway in
North Moravia.
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Business NewsBusiness News
The Czech Republic may need another nuclear power station, says the
Industry and Trade Minister Jiri Rusnok. The Czech ministers of trade and
defence have been lobbying in India on behalf of the Czech military
aircraft maker Aero Vodochody. Matsushita is planning to invest another 8
million USD in a R&D facility in Czech Republic. Mobile penetration is
expected to reach 90 percent in 2003.
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Business NewsBusiness News
The cabinet has suspended its discussion of the long-awaited fiscal reform
aimed at stopping the growth of the public finance deficit. Pilots working
for the Czech national air carrier, Czech Airlines (CSA) have reportedly
threatened to go on strike to support their wage demands. U.S.
manufacturing conglomerate Honeywell has chosen the Czech city Brno for a
planned global design center. Czech internet users will be able to get a
broadband connection using the ADSL technology with a 3-month delay in
March.
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Business NewsHow oil prices affect Czech economy
Oil prices on world markets have been growing recently mainly due to the
political crisis in Venezuela and the looming war against Iraq. Although
the oil prices decreased slightly after the oil cartel OPEC hinted it
might increase output to compensate for the dropout in Venezuela's
exports, the main risk factors remain in place. The Czech Republic is
dependent on oil imports and turbulence on the oil market can seriously
affect its economy. However, a favourable exchange rate for the Czech
crown to the US dollar is helping to compensate for the current oil price
increases. I spoke about the latest developments with economic analyst
Petr Zahradnik from the Conseq Finance company and asked him first if we
can we expect more turbulence on the oil market:
More
Current AffairsThousands of households in East Bohemia without heat and hot water
More than 150,000 inhabitants in the east Bohemian towns of Hradec Kralove,
Pardubice and Chrudim have had no heating and hot water for the third day
running. The same goes for schools, offices, restaurants and shops. The
reason is an accident at the Opatovice electricity plant that heats the
towns - its roof collapsed on Saturday and damaged all six boilers placed
inside. Alena Skodova reports:
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Current Affairs Efforts to increase energy efficiency in the Czech Republic gaining steam
By ratifying the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 the Czech Republic has committed itself to reversing the damaging effects of climate change. A major element of the Kyoto Protocol is the enhancement of energy efficiency and conservation. More
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