In Business News this week: Škoda workers to see record pay increase; Prague apartment prices hit record high; mortgages hit all-time low.
Unions at Škoda win 11.5 percent pay increase over two years
Photo: Škoda Auto
Carmaker Škoda has agreed to give its workers a record salary increase of 11.5 percent on average over the next two years, according to trade union leaders. Negotiations between the two sides had previously reached a stalemate and the unions had threatened strike action. The unions calculate that the pay rises will cost the company 2.6 billion crowns. Škoda is the biggest player in the Czech auto industry and last year saw record sales.
Prague apartment prices reach record high
The average price of apartments sold in Prague grew by 8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, according to figures compiled by a group of developers cited by the Czech News Agency. The average price per metre in the period from the start of January to the end of March was a record 60,517 crowns, the survey found. The rise has been attributed to a marked decline in supply; the developers said the number of flats offered on the capital’s property market had fallen 20 percent year on year.
Average mortgage rate falls below 2 percent for first time
Photo: fantasista / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Average mortgage rates in the Czech Republic have reached a new record low. The figure in March was 1.97 percent, down from 2.02 percent the previous month, according to consultants Fincentrum, who have been monitoring the market since 2003 and do not take into account fixed-rate duration. Fincentrum analyst Josef Rajdl told the Czech News Agency that mortgage rates were likely to fall further. He said anybody with sufficient income seeking a loan of up to 85 percent for a longer fixed-rate period who was not now being offered less than 1.9 percent was “at a bad bank”.
Poll: Two-thirds of Czechs believe too many foreigners working in CR
Two-thirds of Czechs believe that there are too many foreigners working in the Czech Republic, suggests a new opinion poll conducted by the STEM agency. Three in every five respondents expressed the view that foreigners are depriving Czechs of jobs. Though both views prevail, they are down on last year. A similar survey in 2015 indicated that 80 percent of Czechs thought there was an excessive number of foreigners employed in the country and over 70 percent believed incomers took Czechs’ jobs
Ruling parties set to clash over wage increase in public sector
Photo: Barbora Kmentová
The ruling parties look set to clash over a proposed increase in wages in the public sector next year. The Social Democrats are proposing a 10 percent increase in wages in the health and education sectors and a five percent increase for others in the public sphere. Finance Minister Andrej Babiš told Czech TV he was willing to discuss a 3 percent increase for selected public sector workers. Trade unions in the health sector are demanding a significant increase, saying that the health sector suffers from a crippling shortage of doctors and nurses which is affecting the quality of health care afforded.
