Czech trade unions seek pay rises, cut in working week

The biggest grouping of Czech trades unions, the Confederation of Czech and Moravian Trades Unions, is focusing on higher wages and a shorter working week at a two day congress in the capital, Prague, beginning Friday.

The unions want to see a cut in the working week by 2.5 hours. They also want to see a 1,500 crown hike in the minimum wage from January next year from the current 12,200 crowns to 13,700 crowns. The unions point out that past increases in the minimum wage have not dented the performance of the Czech economy, as employers had warned.

The two-day meeting should elect a new leadership for the next four years. The only contender to be chairman is the current incumbent, Josef Středula.