Confederation refuses non-systematic rise of minimum wage

The planned increase is a populist measure, the employers‘ association stresses.

The Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic refuses the government’s effort to raise the minimum wage further to 11 000 CZK (407,5 euros) monthly as a populist step linked to the forthcoming election campaign. In the opinion of the business representatives, the minimum wage level should be defined parametrically according to the GDP and average wage development so as its rise couldn’t serve as a tool to enforce one’s political aims.

In the Czech Republic, the minimum wage will be raised from 9200 to 9900 CZK (from 340,7 to 366,7 euros) since 1st January 2017. Shortly before the end of the old year, the Czech social-democratic prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka has announced that he would demand a minimum wage rise to at least 11 000 CZK (407,5 euros) from the beginning of 2017.

„The minimum wage should be raised according to the GDP and average wage development,“ the Confederation’s president Jaroslav Hanák pointed out. „It should be geared parametrically so it couldn’t be abused politically. The questions linked to the minimum wage rise should be solved within the social dialogue during the tripartite negotiations.“

According to the governmental coalition agreement, the minimum wage should be raised gradually to 40 percent of the average wage. The Czech minimum wage is currently the fifth lowest in the EU. The employers‘ representatives demand a parametrical gearing of the minimum wage rise mechanism for a long time.