Finance minister: Salaries in public sector to drop by 20 percent by 2014

Planned government reforms will bring the salaries of public sector employees down by 20 percent over the next four years, Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek told Czech TV on Sunday. The government is planning to cut the salaries of state employees by 10 percent next year, this, together with a three-year freeze on the salaries, will mean they will decrease by 20 percent by 2014, Mr Kalousek said. Until now, salaries in the public sector have been rising by 3-4 percent a year.

Earlier this week, some 40,000 trade union members protested the planed 10-percent cut at a rally in Prague. A trade union leader said on Saturday that if the government introduces some controversial changes to the labour code, the unions might call a general strike.

Author: Jan Richter