PRAGUE (Sputnik) — According to Sobotka, it is necessary to increase the minimum wage to some $460, as well as the level of wages in a number of jobs starting from January 1, 2017. For instance, the country faces a significant lack of medical staff, while Czech doctors and nurses are employed in Germany and Austria that provide much higher wages.
"I personally and presumably all social democrats feel disappointed due to the fact…that quite a big gap in the standards of living, in particular, between Germany and Austria on the one hand, and the Czech Republic on the other, continues to take place," the prime minister told journalists.
The process aimed at increasing the salaries of health workers as well as teachers and other state employees by an average of 3 percent started in 2014 and continued in 2015, but it is necessary to make this growth more significant, the prime minister said.
Business executives in most industries oppose any significant increase in minimum wages and wages in general, while representatives of trade unions, according to Sobotka, insist on a more considerable wage growth during negotiations with the government.
