Czech Human Rights Minister says striking agency's aims can't be met

Most of the staff of the Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has gone on strike today. Their demand is that their institution, which currently is part of the portfolio of Czech Human Rights Minister Jiří Dienstbier (ČSSD), become autonomous and independent.

The staff want to negotiate the issue with the Czech Prime Minister. "This strike, in which the strikers are incapable of comprehensibly communicating their aim – the concrete demands to be met – is genuinely unique. ‘Autonomy, independence and transparency’ for the Agency/Department for Social Inclusion of the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic is not an aim that is either comprehensible or feasible. As of 1 July 2015 the law on civil service will apply to this department, it will be binding on the bureaucrats and the minister, and it will set forth their responsibilities and their rights. There is no room in which to debate degrees of autonomy or independence," Dienstbier posted to his Facebook profile this morning.  

"On Monday we will go on strike. This is our final appeal. We are concerned that the entire leadership will leave and the Agency based on the principles that now apply will come to an end. We want autonomy, continuity, and transparency," said Petr Čáp, vice-chair of the Independent Trade Unions of the Employees of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, last week.