The Czech government has approved a rise in the minimum gross monthly wage by 1,000 CZK to 16,200 CZK from January, said Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek.
The minimum wage is paid to about 150,000 of the country’s four million employees, but it is also used as a benchmark to determine higher wages in a number of professions.
The average monthly gross wage was 38,275 CZK in the second quarter.
Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (for ANO) in September had ruled out increasing the minimum wage to 18,000 crowns a month, as proposed by the Social Democrats, the junior party in the governing coalition.
The lowest levels of guaranteed wages
The minimum wage determines the growth of the lowest levels of the guaranteed wage. The lowest levels of guaranteed wages apply to employees whose wages are not agreed in collective agreements and to employees in public services and administration and set the lowest price of labour in stages according to its complexity, responsibility and effort.
For these purposes, the works are classified into 8 groups and for each of them, the relevant lowest level of guaranteed wages in hourly and monthly terms is determined. The following amounts apply for a specified weekly working time of 40 hours.
Group 1: professions such as a kitchen helper, a seamstress of minor adjustments, a cleaner, a courier, or a baggage carrier
Group 2: professions such as a digger, a scaffolder up to 10 m, a plumber, a maid, or a road paver
Group 3: professions such as a bricklayer, a plumber, a heating engineer, a waiter, a bartender, or a barber and a hairdresser
Group 4: professions such as a guide with interpreting, a specialist chef or a tailor in model and custom production
Group 5: professions such as a bus driver, a dispatcher, a paramedic, a general nurse, a midwife, a payroll accountant, a market researcher, or a kindergarten teacher
Group 6: professions such as a sales clerk, a special-school teacher, a network administrator, a creator of IT systems, or a planner of large and demanding constructions
Group 7: professions such as a financial expert, a doctor, a dentist, a pharmacist, a marketing expert, or a software developer
Group 8: professions such as experts in the financial and business strategy of organizations, brokers in the financial and capital markets and top scientists dealing in principle with new scientific research areas
