Cabinet backs welfare payments for laid off OKD workers

The government has approved special welfare payments for workers laid off by the bankrupt mining company OKD. Under a plan announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, they are to receive between CZK 7,000 and CZK 8,000 a month for a period of between three months and five years, depending on years of service and age. The payments will go to all staff at OKD, not just miners. The company has around 10,000 employees in a region – Northern Moravia – with relatively jobless rates.