Spidla: government will not bow to union pressure

Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has repeated that his government will not bow to pressure from trade unions to water down planned public finance reforms. Mr Spidla made the comments on Monday during a visit to Brno, two days after around 15,000 trade union members demonstrated in the centre of Prague against the planned reforms. The government says it is willing to listen to proposals put forward by "its social partners" before submitting the final draft to parliament, but will not abandon the reform package. The government insists the reforms are essential to prepare the Czech economy for eventual adoption of the euro.