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Largest protest in 10 years by unions

Planned public finance reforms the object of labor's ire

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 27th, 2007 issue

More than30,000 protesters gathered in Žižkov June 23 to demonstrate against the government’s planned public finance reforms.
Attendance at the labor-union-led demonstration was the highest seen in the country since November 1997, when more than100,000 people protested against then Prime Minister Václav Klaus’ ineffective government.
Union leaders who spoke at the protest said the current reform bill gives tax breaks to the wealthy while hurting individuals with lower incomes and welfare needs.
“The [reform bill] is not a rucksack full of goodies, but of mud, and the government wants to hang it on our necks,” Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) Vice Chairman Jaroslav Zavadil told the crowd.
The package of tax, healthcare and social reforms passed through its first reading in the Chamber of Deputies in early June and awaits its second and third readings in late summer.
The demonstration began at approximately 9 a.m., when, according to estimates from ČMKOS Chairman Milan Štěch,more than 35,000 protesters gathered in front of the ČMKOS building on Prague 3’s Churchill Square.
By the time the procession reached Wenceslas Square, about 5,000 demonstrators remained, the rest lured by the shops and restaurants of the square’s side streets, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported.
As the procession progressed, police blocked off the eastbound lane of Wilsonova — one of Prague’s main arteries — for 20 minutes.
The demonstration was also attended by politicians, including Social Democratic Chairman Jiří Paroubek and Deputy Jiří Hamáček of the Christian Democrats.
“It was a very successful protest for Czech standards,” Štěch said. “The procession was peaceful, but the mood was warlike. You could hear us for blocks.”
Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said the government is not likely to meet ČMKOS demands.
“Out of respect for minority opinions, the unions feel obliged to listen to [them]. However, I cannot agree with these opinions,” he told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
Separately, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek of the Civic Democrats (ODS) compared the demonstration to the new ODS party platform presented by Deputy Vladimír Tlustý, which advocates further changes to the finance reform bill.
“The truth is everyone would like the measures to make it through [the Chamber of Deputies] in their current shape,” Topolánek told ČTK.
If the government refuses to redraft the reform bill, union leaders say they are prepared for further protests, and are not ruling out the possibility of a general strike.
“If this bill is approved, it will be like throwing a boomerang into the air,” said Štěch. “It will not end there — we will not be scared off.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


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