Unions seek pay rise talks with govt, want deal struck in August

Czech trade unions want the date of their next talks with the cabinet on wages in the public sector to be set so that the talks are closed this month, defining the extent and timing of civil servants' pay increase, Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek and CMKOS umbrella union head Josef Stredula said on Friday. The unions are demanding a 10 percent pay increase. The Social Democrats (CSSD) will be pushing in the government for the pay increase to maximally comply with the unions' demands, Hamacek, the CSSD chairman, told journalists after meeting Stredula. The government, in which the CSSD's senior partner is the ANO movement, has proposed to increase government spending on wages in the public sector by 6 percent as of next year.