Daily news summary
Supreme Audit Office: State budget unprepared to deal with recession
The state budget is even less prepared to deal with a period of recession than it was ten years ago, according to a report by the Supreme Audit Office.
The report is critical of growing mandatory expenditures and a strong dependence on tax revenues, noting that even a slight recession would bring an increase in the state deficit.
The office says that last year mandatory expenditures rose to 1069 billion crowns, amounting to 75 percent of the state budget. The budget proposal for 2020 counts on a 40 billion crown deficit.
Trade unions to demonstrate for higher wages
Some 1,500 trade unionists from all over the Czech Republic are planning to go to Prague on September 17 to demonstrate in support of higher wages ahead of tripartite talks.
The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS) will make public its demands for next year, based on a study on bringing Czech earnings closer to the average income in the old EU member states.
The planned demonstration is part of a trade union campaign aimed at ending cheap labor in the country.
There are approximately 3.1 million people working in the private sector, where the average wage is CZK 33,321.
The public sector employs 640,700 people who get an average wage of CZK 35,437.
CMKOS is an umbrella organization comprising 30 unions with about 300,000 members.
Lipová named Village of the Year 2019
The title Village of the Year for 2019 has gone to Lipová in the Usti region. Ratibor, located in the Zlín region, Moravia, came second and Libovice in Central Bohemia placed third.
The criteria include civic activities and social life, maintenance of buildings, energy sources and greenery. 206 villages competed for the title this year.
The competition aims to draw attention to small municipalities and encourage people living in the countryside to take an active part in the development of their village. The title has been awarded since 1995.
Bonfire at Lany in memory of Czechoslovakia’s first president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
President Miloš Zeman lit a bonfire at Lany chateau to mark the 82nd anniversary of the death of Czechoslovakia’s first president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk on Saturday.
The traditional ceremony was also attended by Cardinal Dominik Duka and the honorary chairman of TOP 09 Karel Schwarzenberg.
The tradition of Masaryk bonfires goes back to 1935 when they were lit around the country to celebrate the president’s 85th birthday. The tradition was cut off by the communist regime and renewed in 2001.
Hundreds join march in support of “traditional family model”
Several hundred people joined a march for traditional family values through the centre of Prague on Saturday afternoon.
Its participants, among them politician and church dignitaries, protested against the idea of the state recognizing a family other than the traditional man and woman model.
The event, organized by Alliance for Family comes ahead of a debate in Parliament on a bill on marriage equality, which would give gays and lesbians the same rights as heterosexuals.
100,000 have signed a petition against it.
Aviation accidents involving small aircraft growing
The number of aviation accidents in the Czech Republic is growing, with 91 accidents reported last year, which is an increase of 19 accidents year-on-year, according to data published by the Institute for the Investigation of Aviation Accidents.
Most of the accidents involved small aircraft used for sport or recreational purposes. Eleven people lost their lives in the crashes. None of the accidents involved large commercial aircraft.
The institute says that despite the increase, the Czech Republic maintains a high safety aviation standard.
Weather forecast
Monday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain in the afternoon hours and day temperatures between 19 and 23 degrees Celsius.
