Prague, June 16 (CTK) - The union protest that started at midnight has paralysed mainly public transport in Prague where the underground (metro) has been stopped for the first time ever.
A mere 40 percent of trams and 20 percent of buses operated in the capital at 5:00 CEST. Trains went to a halt across the country. At some places they have been partially replaced by buses.
Public transport is limited in the regional capitals of Brno, south Moravia, Olomouc, north Moravia, and Usti and Labem, north Bohemia.
Bus carriers went on strike in some areas of the country only. Most of them have joined the strike symbolically.
The strike was called in protest against the government's prepared reforms of the pension, healthcare, welfare and tax systems. The main target of transport workers’ strike action is Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek (Top 09), who sought a court injunction forcing unions to postpone their action from Monday to Thursday. The unions say his reforms are taking away benefits and increasing their payments.
Unions representing Prague city transport staff say the proposed reforms will do away with their annual travel pass, cancel meal tickets worth around Kč 10,080 a year, up pension payments by an annual Kč 6,000 and wipe out another around 110 perks and benefits. Taxes on wages will rise from 15-19 percent, health insurance increase by one percentage point to 6.5 percent and value-added tax (VAT) rise from 10 percent to 14 percent in 2012 and then to a single rate of 17.5 percent in 2013. In return, they say Kalousek is offering compensation of around Kč 3,000.
The strike is organised by the Coalition of Transport Unions (KDOS) that roofs 13 union branches.
No comments:
Post a Comment