Fischer: wage reductions for state employees still up for discussion

Caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer has said that the government will continue to meet with teachers and public administrators to discuss budget cuts approved by parliament on Friday that will decrease their salaries by 4%. Speaking on TV Prima on Sunday, Mr Fischer said that he had already discussed the matter at length with the head of the relevant labour union and that parliamentary approval of the package was not necessarily the last word on the issue. The wage reductions for state employees entail cuts of around 1,000 crowns for teachers for example, and were projected to save the budget roughly seven billion crowns. Unions have strongly protested the cuts.