Unions plan week of protests in late April

Unions and civic initiatives have launched a campaign to push for early parliamentary elections. The aim of the “Stop the Government” campaign is to end the government reforms and force the cabinet to resign. A demonstration called for April 21 in Prague is to be followed by a week of protests in cities throughout the country. Among other things, the unions’ complaints focus on measures such as increased VAT, slowing pension growth, and the dismissal of public sector employees. School sector unions will likely also protest, while transport unions have said they are prepared to launch a larger strike than last June.