In Czech Republic, civil servants’ wages have become a political issue during 2004. There are currently 750,000 state employees, of whom 450,000 receive their wages directly from the central state budget, and the rest from other public budgets. There are 240,000 teachers, 70,000 office workers and 47,000 police officers. It is the last-named group that will receive the highest wage increase from January 2005 - they will receive an additional CZK 8,000 on top of their average monthly wage of CZK 24,000. There are also improved provisions on retirement pay and pensions. For example: a police officer who decides to leave the force after 20 years of service will, under the new rules, receive a one-off payment of CZK 149,000, as well as a monthly pension of CZK 12,800.
In the run-up to Senate and regional council elections in November 2004, proposals to give police officers a major pay rise provoked controversy in the Czech Republic.
In Czech Republic, civil servants’ wages have become a political issue during 2004. There are currently 750,000 state employees, of whom 450,000 receive their wages directly from the central state budget, and the rest from other public budgets. There are 240,000 teachers, 70,000 office workers and 47,000 police officers. It is the last-named group that will receive the highest wage increase from January 2005 - they will receive an additional CZK 8,000 on top of their average monthly wage of CZK 24,000. There are also improved provisions on retirement pay and pensions. For example: a police officer who decides to leave the force after 20 years of service will, under the new rules, receive a one-off payment of CZK 149,000, as well as a monthly pension of CZK 12,800.
The draft legislation on police pay became an issue in the run-up to elections to the Senate and regional councils on 5-6 November 2004. The governing Czech Social Democratic Party (Česká strana sociálně demokratická, ČSSD) support the wage increases, which were promised by the Prime Minister and party leader Stanislav Gross. The opposition Civic Democratic Party (Občanská demokratická strana, ODS) and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (Komunistická strana Čech a Moravy, KSČM) are opposed to the rises on principle and the Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People’s Party (Křesťanská a demokratická unie-Československá strana lidová, KDU-ČSL) wants to defer the law’s effect for two years, giving the money saved to farmers (the countryside is where the Christian Democrats have traditionally drawn their electorate). The bill passed its first reading in the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna Parlamentu), and the second reading was due immediately before the elections.
According to commentators, the absence of any predetermined, clear rules for wage growth in the state administration means that other categories of civil servants are looking for powerful champions for their own cause, believing that some 'forgotten reserve' can always be found among the hundreds of state budget items. In a separate development, teachers have thus negotiated a monthly pay increase of CZK 2,000 for 2005, and doctors have also been promised extra.
A united endeavour by civil servants’ trade union organisations to increase the size of the '14th month' bonus has achieved only partial success. They tabled a demand of 40% of average monthly pay, the government offered 10% and they agreed on a compromise 25% that civil servants will receive in time for Christmas 2004.
Eurofound anbefaler, at denne publikation citeres på følgende måde.
Eurofound (2004), Controversy over police pay rises, article.
