News

The Czech Confederation of Industry asked Prime Minister Petr Nečas on Thursday to reconsider planned changes to the Czech labour code. Speaking after a tripartite meeting between the government, trade unions and employers, the confederation’s head, Jaroslav Míl, said that instead of two amendments to the code the government has prepared, it would be better to introduce one major makeover to make the Czech labour market more flexible. For his part, the head of the Czech trade unions’ association, Jaroslav Zavadil, said no changes were necessary; should the government pursue the planned changes, Czech employees would be worst off in the whole of the EU. Prime Minister Petr Nečas said the government would hold further negotiation about the planned changes with all concerned parties.

The volume of foreign investments in the Czech Republic dropped by around one third in the first half of 2010, compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the state CzechInvest agency on Thursday. In the first six months of this year, foreign companies invested around 7 billion crowns, or nearly 360 million US dollars, compared to 10 billion in the same period a year earlier. A CzechInvest spokeswoman said foreign firms are most frequently investing in IT and software development. Some 4,500 jobs are expected to stem from these investments.

The Czech-based, German-owned Škoda Auto car maker faces a production stoppage due to problems of one its suppliers, Delphi Packard, the daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported on Thursday. The company, which supplies wiring for Škoda cars, has announced the closure of its plant in the Czech Republic by the end of May 2011. Its employees have failed to reach an agreement with the plant’s management on severance packages, and are planning to go on an unlimited strike. Škoda Auto had to limit production two weeks ago because another of its suppliers was hit by the floods that swept northern Bohemia earlier this month. Full production at Škoda only resumed last week.

The Czech Labour and Social Affairs Ministry is considering removing all restrictions on time-limited employment contracts, the news website aktualne.cz reported on Thursday. Under current Czech labour law, employers can only offer temporary employment contracts for a maximum period of two years. After that, they have to offer their employees permanent contracts. Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jaromír Drabek is now planning to remove the restrictions altogether although the centre-right government’s policy originally only included the extension of this limit to five years.