Daily news summary

Teachers' unions declare strike alert

Teachers' unions have declared a strike alert over the coalition’s failure to agree on a wage hike for people working in the education sector.

The parties of the ruling coalition agreed on Monday that teachers should get a wage increase, but failed to agree on how much it should be.

Trade unions are pushing for a 15 percent wage increase for teachers and a 10 percent increase for non-teaching staff.

According to the head of the umbrella trade union organization Josefa Středula other unions may join the strike alert.

Average wage hike fastest in decade

The average wage in the Czech Republic grew by 7.6 percent to 29, 346 crowns in the second quarter, according to data released by the Czech Statistics Office. Minus inflation the growth is 5.3 percent which is the fastest wage growth registered in the last ten years.

According to analysts this reflects the exceptionally healthy state of the economy and low unemployment rate. They predict it will lead the central bank to effect another hike in interest rates in September.

Constitutional Court says foreign national was wrongfully detained

The Czech Constitutional Court has ruled in favour of a foreign national who was arrested on an Interpol warrant in view of possible extradition to Russia where he was found guilty of a criminal offense. The court said the Czech authorities erred in detaining the man since the said foreign national was granted asylum in Austria in 2004.

According to international treaties, asylum granted in one member state of the EU must be respected in all the others, the court ruled. The man has since been released, but experts say the case will serve as a legal precedent.

Chinese tire manufacturer planning to invest in Moravian-Silesian region

A Chinese tire manufacturer plans to build a plant in the Moravian-Silesian region, President Milos Zeman said during a visit to the region on Tuesday.

Mr. Zeman said he had negotiated with a Chinese company the size of Nexen which wanted to invest in the industrial zone Triangl. According to the president the investment should create 1,500 to 2,000 new jobs.

Although he failed to name the company, the ctk news agency says that billion crown investor could be Linglong Tire which had previously shown an interest in investing in the Czech Republic.

Traffic police say number of accidents growing

Traffic police are increasing their presence on Czech roads after statistics revealed a growing number of accidents in the first eight months of this year.

The police were called to sixty thousand accidents between January and August which is 2,000 higher than in the same period of last year.

Road experts say this is due to increased aggression on the road, inattention and speeding. Traffic police have been posted particularly in high-risk areas.

US Open: Plíšková through to quarterfinals

Top seed Karolína Plíšková made quick work of American player Jennifer Brady on Monday at the US, losing just one game in the first set (6:1, 6:0) to clinch a spot in the quarterfinal at the US Open. Fellow Czech player Petra Kvitová qualified for the quarterfinals a day earlier.

Lucie Šafařová, however, did not advance, losing to Coco Vandewegh in straight sets.

Weather forecast

Wednesday should be partly cloudy to overcast, with rain in places, and day temperatures between 20 and 23 degrees Celsius.