2023-12-06 13:52:00
The minimum wage rose by 1,100 crowns to 17,300 crowns this January. According to the documents for the upcoming government regulation, about 118,000 people worked for the lowest amount last year. The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) is demanding an increase of 2,200 crowns for next year.
“The minimum wage will rise to 18,900 crowns from January. This represents a growth of 9.2%, i.e. 1,600 crowns. On behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, we came up with a proposal for the nominally highest increase in the minimum wage in history. As of January, the income situation of a number of important professions, which are paid at the lowest levels of guaranteed wages, will thus significantly improve. These include, for example, cooks, cleaners, workers in social services, but also other staff. Our proposal represents a compromise, as again there was no agreement between union and employer representatives. It reflects today’s economic reality. We must remember that companies are able to pay their employees and do not start laying off workers due to additional costs,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) said on Facebook.
Středula still wants CZK 19,500
“I think that ours is a reasonable compromise at 19,500 CZK, because if we were to take into account inflation up to the minimum wage and inflation from 2021, so the current proposal to at least maintain the purchasing power of the minimum wage would have to be CZK 21,165 and we chose a compromise option. that’s why we propose 19,500 CZK,” explained ČMKOS head Josef Středula on CT today.
“When we compare the minimum wage with other countries, such as, for example, Poland, which has a lower economic performance, but their minimum wage will reach almost 23 thousand crowns, and we think that this is to be followed (…) The proposal of Minister Jurečka is so low that the person who works will be below the income poverty line for individuals. It means that a person will be able to be on social benefits and it will be more beneficial for them than to work. And I think that is definitely wrong,” continued Středula.
However, he described the negotiations of the tripartite party, which did not agree on the minimum wage, as factual, argumentative and not emotional.
However, the tripartite employers did not agree to a jump increase in the minimum wage. They suggested the same rate of growth as for other earnings, i.e. by 1,000 crowns.
They point out that with the minimum wage, guaranteed wages also increase. These represent the lowest earnings according to expertise, responsibility and demandingness of work and are paid in eight grades. They range from the minimum wage to double it. For this year, only the lowest and highest level were adjusted.
Adequate minimum wages on the territory of the European Union are governed by a directive adopted by the twenty-seventh member state last year. The regulation recommends 60 percent of the median gross wage or 50 percent of the average gross wage as a guideline for determining the amount. Member states have two years to implement EU rules.
Fiala: Unions cannot come to an agreement with employers
The negotiations surrounding the minimum wage were commented on on Tuesday’s Ptám se, Mr. Prime Minister program on Blesk.cz by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS).
“If we look abroad (…), what the minimum wage looks like there is usually the result of a debate between entrepreneurs, employees and trade unions, without the government interfering. And why is such a model good? Well, that model is good because, on the one hand, an agreement is reached and there is general agreement, but it is also good because the minimum wage is set at such an amount that the employers have and are able to earn. In our country, unfortunately, the government has to decide. I’m not denying that responsibility, I’m just saying unfortunately, because the unions can’t come to an agreement with the employers,” remarked the Prime Minister.
The lowest income now corresponds to roughly 40 percent of the average wage. According to the first proposed version, it should reach 45 percent of the average by 2028. So every year the share would grow by one percentage point.
From January next year, this would mean an increase of 1,600 crowns, i.e. 9.2 percent. The ratio of the lowest and average earnings would then amount to 41.1 percent. For employers, the costs of the lowest paid worker would increase by 2,141 crowns per month, i.e. by 25,690 crowns annually. In total, it could cost them an extra 2.9 billion crowns. The state would receive an additional 680 million crowns in social contributions, and another 290 million crowns in health benefits.
“The Czech minimum wage is really low, unreasonably low. In Poland today, the ratio of the minimum wage to the average wage is already 45 percent,” commented Středula in ČT.
#Jurečka #proposes #minimum #wage #rise #CZK #Středula #angry #asks #CZK