Coalition parties reach agreement on short-time working bill

After months of dispute on the matter, governing parties ANO and the Social Democrats have drafted a joint bill on short-time working, under which the state would cover part of the salaries of firms in difficulty, Czech Television reported. The legislation could go before MPs before the end of March, Czech TV said. Opposition parties back the idea on principle.

The government first submitted a bill on short-time working to the lower house in September. Since then many modifications have been to the legislation, which may have difficulty winning approval.