President backs public broadcasters' right to strike

President Petr Pavel says he understands the concerns behind next week's planned one-day strike by employees of Czech Television and Czech Radio, calling the protest a legitimate expression of uncertainty over the government's proposed funding overhaul. Speaking during a visit to the Vysočina region, Pavel said replacing licence fees with state budget funding is not necessarily wrong in principle, but only if the independence of public service media is clearly protected. He criticised the government for proposing the funding change before defining safeguards for editorial independence and the role of public service broadcasting.