Daily news summary
ANO and Social Democrats reach deal on public sector pay rises
Coalition parties ANO and the Social Democrats have come to an agreement on raising public sector salaries next year. The chairman of the latter grouping, Jan Hamáček, told journalists that the Ministry of Finance had agreed to considerably higher increases than originally proposed.
The Social Democrats leader refused to reveal the precise figure involved but other senior party members indicated that it would be around 10 percent. For their part, ANO ministers would only say that they continued to favour salary increases.
Czech PM to visit Great Britain in October
Prime Minister Andrej Babis is likely to visit Great Britain at the end of October, for talks on bilateral relations post-Brexit, the Czech Republic’s ambassador to London, Libor Sečka told the ctk news agency.
If the visit goes ahead as planned, the prime minister would hold talks with his British counterpart Theresa May and attend a concert of the Czech Philharmonic held on the occasion of the centenary of Czechoslovakia.
The Czech embassy in London is running a successful project called Czech Republic 100 within which it is presenting Czech achievements in different fields, such as medicine and nanotechnology.
Ministry proposes 12 percent rise in minimum wage
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has put forward a new decree that would raise the minimum wage in the Czech Republic by over 12 percent. The previously announced change would see the minimum wage climb by CZK 1,500 to CZK 13,700.
The amendment to the Labour Code, which has been posted on the Czech government website, also envisages tying growth of the minimum wage to average salary increases from the year 2020.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is headed by Jana Maláčová of the Social Democrats.
Radim Dragoun to head police oversight agency
The government has approved the appointment of state attorney Radim Dragoun as head of the General Inspectorate of the Security Forces. Prime Minister Babis should officially appoint him to office on September 1st.
Dragoun said his task would be to stabilize the force, prevent information leaks, increase trust among its members and improve communication with state attorneys.
The inspectorate’s former director Michal Murín left his post at the end of April following criticism from the prime minister.
The inspectorate investigates crimes committed by members of the police.
Průmyslový Palác to undergo reconstruction
Prague City hall has announced a 1.2 billion crown tender on the renovation of the Průmyslový Palác building on the city’s main fairgrounds. The left wing of the building was badly damaged by fire in 2008.
In view of the building’s historic value the renovation work will be a copy of the original and will be supervised by conservationists. The building, which dates back to 1891, underwent a major reconstruction in the 1950s. Reconstruction work on the building should start next year.
Czech Outdoor to dismantle its roadside billboards
The Czech Outdoor advertising agency has promised to remove all its roadside billboards by the end of September, according to Transport Ministry spokesman Jakub Stadler.
This is in line with a 2017 law which bans advertisement billboards within 250 meters from main roads and highways for safety reasons.
The legislation met with strong opposition from outdoor advertising operators some of whom attempted to bypass it by replacing advertisements with gigantic Czech flags and other non-commercial posters.
According to the ministry close to a thousand billboards still have to be dismantled.
Weather forecast
Thursday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain in most parts of the country and day temperatures between 19 and 24 degrees Celsius.
