Minister: Arts sector pay should be higher but finances are lacking

The minister of culture, Martin Baxa, says he agrees with trade unions that wages in the arts sector should be higher, but Czechia’s economic situation means that expectations in that regard cannot be met this year. He made the comments before a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Unions accuse the government and the minister of failing to address problems in the culture sector, saying a promise of salary increases in 2023 was not met. They say the government pledged to bring spending on culture closer to one percent of the state budget but in fact underfunding is getting worse.