Teachers want meeting with prime minister to resolve salary strike alert

Teaching trade unions have asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš about their planned January salary increase and remain on strike alert, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday.

The unions originally wanted a 15 percent increase to their salaries as opposed to the government’s planned 10 percent pay rise, but have since agreed to the percentage proposed by the latter. The issue now revolves around how the extra pay should be handed out.

The unions have so far not commented on a new proposal by Education Minister Robert Plaga from the ANO party, which would see a flat pay increase of CZK 2,700 with a further CZK 900 available in bonuses.

The government previously promised to increase teachers’ salaries by 150 percent of their 2017 wages by the end of the current election term.