Thousands march in Prague protest over pay cuts

By Bill Lehane and Klára Jiřičná

Staff Writers

Thousands of workers have taken to the streets of Prague to protest against the government's plans to cut the public wage budget by 10 percent next year under its financial austerity measures.

The Sept. 21 march from Letná to Jan Palach Square included police, firefighters, soldiers, civil servants, healthcare workers, education staff and financial workers, among other professions and trades.

Police estimates of the turnout for the demonstration ranged from 25,000 to 30,000. Organizers had expected 20,000 people to turn out from around the country.

Demonstrators at the march spoke to The Prague Post about why they were protesting, and how the cuts were impacting their lives. Couples and families with two state sector incomes appeared to be the worst affected.

Martin, a police officer from West Bohemia, said he was "angry with the government" over what he called "these absurd salary cuts."

"My pay cut is going to cause me trouble when paying my mortgage. I have a family, and I just do not think the budget cuts are being made in the right places," Martin said, citing the recent 22 billion Kč spent on a new stretch of the city's outer ring road.

Fifty-year-old Miroslav Sabó, a local government official, said he was considering quitting his job over the cutbacks, which he said would reduce his monthly salary by 9,000 Kč.

"I have a family. My wife and I are both state employees so the family income is going to be even more reduced," Sabó said.before calling the Cabinet "morons."

Jan Fejfar of the Prague Criminal Police said uncertainty was the worst part of the cutbacks, adding that if it were not for the protest, state employees would be like "sheep waiting to be slaughtered."

Fejfar said he believed the economy "would not be revived by firing people," and added that the cutbacks could both endanger emergency services and dissuade efforts to counteract corruption.

Václav Purkyň, an emergency medic from the Karlovy Vary region, said he stood to lose 4,000-6,000 Kč a month, and that he may no longer be able to pay for his children's education.

"I have a family and mortgage, and if I have to decide whether to become homeless or stop paying for my children's studies, I will go for the latter," he said.

Lenka, a civil police employee, claimed her salary would be cut by 6,500 Kč, adding this was far more than 10 percent.

"I guess [Finance Minister Miroslav] Kalousek is not able to get his math correct. He should go back to school to learn how to calculate better," she said.

Lenka said that, together with the reduction in her husband's state employee salary, the family income would be reduced to that of a decade ago.

"In no way will these cuts boost the economy," she said. "Middle class people will stop buying, and the overall purchasing power in the Czech Republic will decrease."

In addition to the pay cuts, unions were also angry over the government's proposal to abolish pay raises for public workers based on years of service and replace them with a system of personal bonuses.

Ahead of the protest, unions met with ministry representatives Sept. 20 to discuss the changes. Talks between healthcare unions and ministry officials ended without agreement, although both sides have agreed to meet again.

Ivana Břeňková, vice president of the Union of Health and Social Care Workers (OSZSP), said the union was demanding that the current pay scale for workers in the sector be maintained.

"The situation is explosive, and a lot of employees are very angry," she told The Prague Post.

Břeňková said proposed changes in the labor law would "lead to a situation where the most experienced workers in our sector could face pay cuts of up to 40 percent."

The union is sticking to its plan to strike Oct. 15 - the first day of voting in the municipal and Senate elections - if demands are not met.

Ministry and police officials held talks with police unions for eight hours Sept. 20 without agreement.

Milan Štěpánek, chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Police Corps ČR (NOS-PČR), said he questioned the awarding of bonuses of up to $13,200 (250,000 Kč) to certain police staff.

"We would like to get some explanation of how this is possible, of what possible heroic achievement they must have accomplished to be rewarded this much," Štěpánek said.

While Interior Minister Radek John has said overall police numbers on the street would remain the same, Štěpánek said he believed it would not be possible to cut so much from the budget while maintaining the current police standards.

Education workers joined the protest despite an additional 2 billion Kč set aside by the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry for wages in the sector next year.

František Dobšík, chairman of the Education Workers Union, said his members were protesting in support of teachers because the funds did not cover their salaries.

He added that the proposed removal of pay rises for years of service would mean that longer-serving teachers would be hit even harder in 2011.

Dobšík said teachers had already seen staff cuts and a salary freeze.

"This proposal punishes those who are not to blame for the current economic situation," he said.

Dobšík compared the extra education funds with the billions reportedly overspent on the country's purchase of 107 Pandur army vehicles, a deal currently subject to a corruption investigation.

In a letter to firefighters encouraging them to protest, Zdeněk Oberreiter, chairman of Firefighter's Union, wrote Sept. 19 that he was "really mad" at the large bonuses reportedly being given to members of the police force.

He added that firefighters would consider holding a further protest.

The writers can be reached at: news@praguepost.com

More on this story - Word on the Street: Pay protests