News

Union protesters plan “Month of Disruption”

A key labour union in the Czech Republic with more than half a million members has announced that from April 14, it will undertake what it describes as a “month of disruption”. The Czech-Moravian Association of Trade Unions are planning a series of demonstrations and have also threatened strike action, in protest at government reforms, which they blame for rising inflation levels in the country. Specifically, they oppose wide-scale reforms to healthcare and pensions proposed by the government. The news follows a tense meeting between union members and the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek in early April.

Ostrava reconstructs tragic tram crash

Police and transport specialists have reconstructed events which led to a tram crash that occurred in the northeastern Czech city of Ostrava on Friday. The head-on collision, which claimed three lives, occurred on a single track used for trams going in both directions. Monday’s reconstruction was undertaken in order to find out the precise circumstances behind the accident. Czech police have confirmed that the investigation into the incident may take several months. At present, human error on the part of one of the drivers – both of whom survived the crash - is being seen as the most likely cause.

Gross apartment causes controversy

Former Prime Minister Stanislav Gross has continued to come under media scrutiny for the purchase of a luxury apartment near Miami, Florida. Czech newspapers have been looking into the apartment complex, called Hidden Bay which boasts 24 hour security and high fences. The daily Mladá fronta Dnes has estimated the flat to be worth 12 million crowns - or more than 800,000 US dollars. Mr. Gross was forced to stand down as the country’s Prime Minister in 2005 partly as a result of an inability to explain where he got 1.2 million crowns to purchase a luxury flat in the Czech capital.

Immigration to Czech Republic breaks records

Newly released figures suggest that last year the Czech Republic saw record levels of immigration with around 84,000 people moving into the country. An academic study from Charles University also suggests that the country has become the number one destination for immigration among post-communist European states. Some figures estimate that with an ageing populace, up to a third of the Czech population may comprise of immigrants by 2065, with people from Ukraine, Vietnam and China forming the largest immigrant communities. Recent government initiatives have been designed to make immigration into the country easier.

Czech Crown breaks new record against Euro.

On Monday morning, the Czech crown broke a new record, exchanging at a rate of 23 crowns for 1 Euro. Although this is considered to be something of a blip, the underlying strength of the Czech crown has been a key issue in recent months and even years – at the same point last year, the rate was 28 crowns to the Euro. Although a strong crown favors Czechs traveling abroad, but has a detrimental effect on Czech exporters in Europe, who find that they get fewer Euro for exporting the same amount. The Czech government has long promised to take measures to avoid a further strengthening of the currency, said to partly be the result of market speculation and increasing Czech overseas investment.

Police break up Pervitin gang

In Ostrava, a special anti-drug police unit known as “Toxi” has broken up one of the biggest pervitin producing networks in the country. Czech police made the announcement Monday. The group, which is said to have made as much as a million crowns, was reportedly under surveillance from last September, allegedly making around 50,000 crowns worth of pervitin a day. The drugs were then sold on to dealers throughout the region. The abuse of pervitin or methamphetamine has been on a rise in the Czech Republic.

Czech exchange booths discriminate against foreigners, say tourist brochures

A number of tourist brochures for foreigners visiting the Czech Republic as well as a prominent Czech consumer rights organization (called SOS) are explicitly warning that currency exchange booths frequently attempt to rip off their foreign customers. Specifically, these foreign exchange booths are accused of discriminating against foreigners, giving them far less advantageous rates than those given to Czechs. The SOS consumer rights organization is lobbying for a detailed investigation by the Czech authorities.

Police arrest Prague town council employee over lost millions

The Czech police have arrested an employee of the Prague 1 town council over suspected foul play, which led to the loss of around 50 million crowns. The police believe that an organized plot enabled the missing money to be transferred to somewhere other than its intended destination, the Swedish construction company Skanska. Instead, the money was channeled to a company in Lithuania. So far, only 5.5 million crowns of the money has been recovered.

Weather:

Sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected to give way to cloud and rain later in the week with temperatures dipping down to 7 degrees Celsius in some areas.