• Trade union representatives storm out of talks
    03/28/2008

    Trade union representatives stormed out of tripartite talks on Friday after coming under fire by the prime minister. Union, employers’, and government representatives were to discuss draft employment legislation, but union representatives walked out after Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek sharply criticised both employers and unions on the issue of meal tickets (a system subsidised by employers in return for tax relief by the state). The government had planned to abolish the system last year. The spokeswoman for the ČMKOS union called the prime minister’s words on Friday “vulgar” and the situation “unprecedented”. Mr Topolánek later issued a full apology, asking representatives to return to the negotiating table.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Unions ask government for clear word on future of tripartite
    03/28/2008

    In related developments, Czech trade unions threatened on Friday to withdraw from the tripartite that comprises the government, employers' and employee representatives unless the government states clearly how it should function in the future. The statement was released by the Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation (ČMKOS). The umbrella organisation as well as the Association of Independent Unions were reacting to Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek's behaviour at the tripartite session on Friday. The tripartite was first established in the 1990s, following the fall of the Communist regime with the aim of maintaining social peace in the country during the “transformation period”.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Daily: US could help fund scientific research
    03/28/2008

    The financial daily Hospodářské noviny has reported that the US could help fund Czech scientific research as part of the fight against terrorism if an agreement is reached on the stationing of a US radar base on Czech territory. The newspaper has written that the US Missile Defense Agency has compiled a list of Czech researchers in high-tech fields such as cybernetics, information technology, and nanotechnology, while Prague’s technical university, ČVUT, is to assess what Czech specialists might offer. Miroslava Kopičová from the Government Council for Research & Development has stated that US funding represented a “big opportunity”.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • NHL action: Fleischmann, Holík, games’ first stars
    03/28/2008

    Forward Tomáš Fleischmann was named 1st star in a hockey match between his Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay on Thursday. Fleischmann scored in overtime to lift Washington over Tampa 4-3 keeping alive his team’s playoff hopes. Washington have four more games left in the regular season but trail the Philadelphia Flyers by 2 pts in the 8th and final spot of the Eastern Conference.

    In other action, Atlanta’s Robert Holík was also named 1st star, beating the Florida Panthers’ Tomáš Vokoun twice on the night to lift the Thrashers to the win. The final score was 3-2. The Thrashers are out of the upcoming playoffs, but the Panthers still hold a theoretical chance with four games left. Currently Florida is 7 pts off the final spot.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech trade unions say no to privatised healthcare
    03/27/2008

    Czech health unions have issued a statement urging the government to halt preparations for the privatisation of healthcare in the Czech Republic. Specifically, they point to new proposals by the Health Ministry to float teaching hospitals and also health insurance companies on the stock exchange. Union representatives have described such moves as the first step towards the complete privatisation of Czech healthcare. Heath Minister Tomáš Julínek has denied these claims insisting that the current proposals will still leave hospitals under state ownership.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

  • Fallen Czech soldier buried
    03/27/2008

    The funeral has taken place for the Czech soldier who died in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan last week. Officer Milan Šterba was laid to rest at a ceremony attended by family, friends and also several politicians including Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanová. Šterba was a member of a NATO Special Forces unit operating in the Hilmand Province of Afghanistan.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

  • Anti-communist protesters decorate Czech statue
    03/27/2008

    Anti-communist protesters have decorated a Prague statue of the 14th century Hussite general Jan Žižka with a banner which read “I don’t want more totalitarianism on my conscience” The banner was unfurled by members of the civic group Dekomunizace, which seeks to use visual publicity stunts of this kind to increase public awareness of what it sees as the continuing threat posed by communism in the country. Among its members are former president Václav Havel, director Jan Svěrák and the sculptor David Černý.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

  • Christian Democrats want debate on abortion
    03/27/2008

    The Christian Democrats of the governing coalition have undertaken a fresh battle to bring abortions in the Czech Republic onto the public radar. Newly released government figures reveal that abortions, which are legal in the Czech Republic, have fallen for fifteen consecutive years. The Christian Democratic Party has expressed concerns over new health legislation proposed by Health Minister Tomáš Julínek, which formalises abortion and IVF treatment. Meanwhile, Christian Democrat MP David Macek has called for a wider debate in the Czech Republic about abortion, also calling on the Czech president Václav Klaus to add his voice.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

  • Two thirds of trucks in last week’s accident were going over speed limit
    03/27/2008

    The Czech Transport Ministry has announced that around two-thirds of the trucks involved in last week’s notorious crash along the D1 highway were exceeding the 80kmph speed limit. Around ten minutes prior to the pileup, a number of sensors along the D1 motorway, which connects the cities of Prague and Brno, detected that 65% of trucks were exceeding the speed limit, despite icy conditions and limited visibility. Around thirty people were injured in last Thursday’s accident in which more than a hundred cars slammed into each other with costs estimated to run into tens of millions of crowns.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

  • Kaplický deadline passes, concessions follow
    03/27/2008

    A deadline given by the Czech architect Jan Kaplický for Prague authorities to make a decision regarding his controversial design for a new library passed today, with signs that the architect is prepared to make concessions. In an interview with the online magazine Tyden.cz, Kaplický conceded that he is prepared to wait for the Czech authorities to give his winning design the final go ahead. Earlier, Kaplický had threatened to pull out from the project if a decision was not reached this week.
    Author: Dominik Jůn

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