Czech train drivers on strike alert

The Czech public transport system often comes in for praise: tickets are affordable and there are few places in the country that are inaccessible without a car. The national rail operator, Ceske Drahy, or Czech Railways, carries half a million passengers a day, a huge figure in a country of only ten million. But a dispute between Czech Railways management and its drivers could leave hundreds of thousands of people stranded for two days.

Czech train drivers on strike alert

Czech train drivers are on strike alert. On Thursday, they said "no more" to promises they claim are not being kept, and threatened a walkout on March 1-2. The Federation of Train Drivers says that management has failed to meet their wage demands, but argues that it's not about higher wages, but about distributing them fairly. Federation representative, Frantisek Pospisil:

"The law on wages says that for the same work in the same profession, people should get the same salaries. But train drivers are often paid according to different rates on the pay scale even if they are doing the same work. That means their basic salaries are different and there are discrepancies. If two engine drivers on the same train have different salaries, we think it is totally inconsistent. "

Train drivers get an average monthly wage of 20,000 Czech crowns, slightly above the national average. Czech Railways management last year promised to have the pay scale for its 8,000 train drivers adjusted more fairly by February 1. Although the contract is ready, it is yet to be signed by the management, who claim that the pay scale is only part of a larger agreement that involves all Czech Railways employees and needs to have their consent before it can be signed. Pavel Tesar is Czech Railways Press Officer:

"The pay scale is just a small part of what we call the collective labour agreement, which also concerns other employees too. This is why we are waiting for other unions to react to the terms of the agreement."

And this is where the problem lies. The largest railway union has made it clear that it opposes the agreement reached with the drivers. So, it is highly unlikely that Czech Railways management will have the consent of all trade unions by March 1. It is now up to its director, Petr Kousal, to decide whether he meets the demands of drivers or waits until March 1 to see how serious their threat really is.