Czech trade unions plan mass protest on May 16

Czech trade unions have called upon their members to stage a mass protest against the impacts of the financial crisis upon the Czech labour market on May 16. On Friday, a spokesperson for the Bohemian-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions said that organizers were expecting tens of thousands of Czechs to attend the planned demonstration. According to the trade unions’ confederation, the steps the government has taken to battle the financial crisis in the Czech Republic have not helped solve employees’ problems. Union representatives said that thousands of lay-offs had been caused by the economic downturn, and the government was using the opportunity to amend the Labour Code in employers’ favour.