Prague, November 27 (EFE). – The vast majority of teachers, professors and other employees of the education system in the Czech Republic are taking part this Monday in a strike called by the main trade unions to protest against the austerity plans approved in Parliament and the reform of the pension system.
With the support of the CMKOS trade union federation, to which 31 unions belong, the call for work stoppages and street protests covers, in addition to the education sector, where it is represented, also the public administration, wood, health, transport, culture and food sectors, which were expected to have the largest participation.
The unions are predicting a full-day closure of 70 percent of kindergartens, primary and secondary schools due to a lack of staff, thereby rejecting the government’s austerity plans, which would ultimately lead to a pay cut. On the contrary, they are calling for an increase in funding for the sector.
“We want education to be a priority so that the education system offers quality,” said the head of the school unions, Frantisek Dobsík.
In other sectors, the protest is carried out with one to two hour disruptions to industrial activity, as in the case of the vehicle manufacturer Skoda Auto or work in government offices.
The unions expect that a total of more than a million workers – a quarter of the active population – will take part in the strike and protest demonstrations called today, the largest of which is expected to start at noon today in Plaza Malonstranska in Prague, near the seat of government.
Workers are also protesting against the reform, which envisages raising the retirement age from 65 to 68 years while tightening the conditions for early retirement, as well as the rise in energy prices, the freezing of public sector salaries and the high inflation of the shopping basket.
The conservative coalition leader Petr Fiala considers the strike to be “unjustified” and sees the union leaders’ political ambitions in it. EFE
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