Czech Railways is currently undertaking a complicated process of trying to find economies in material and wage costs. This strategy is reflected in the treatment of certain employee benefits in the draft collective agreement; therefore, a difficult round of bargaining can be expected.

Employer proposal

On 2 September 2008, a ceremonial act heralded the start of a new round of collective bargaining at Czech Railways (České dráhy, a.s., ČD), as the employer presented a new draft collective agreement for 2009 to representatives of all trade unions operating at ČD. On this occasion, the Managing Director of ČD, Petr Žaluda, emphasised that, although the current collective agreement for 2008 is the best that was ever negotiated at ČD, it is economically unsustainable for the company: both wage costs and the existing scope of benefits provided to employees cannot be maintained. In fact, ČD – which was until recently the largest employer in the Czech Republic – is undertaking a complicated process of trying to find economies in material and wage costs. The employer therefore plans to restrict or abandon certain employee benefits and this intention was reflected in the draft collective agreement which it presented.

Mr Žaluda’s statement aroused uncertainty and concern, according to Obzor (‘Horizon’), the weekly newsletter of the largest railway workers’ trade union, the Railway Trade Unions (Odborové sdružení železničářů, OSŽ). Employees are asking questions such as: ‘Is leave really going to be cut and will we have to work longer hours? Are we going to lose travel benefits?’

The Ministry of Transport (Ministerstvo dopravy ČR, MD ČR) decides on the travel benefits traditionally provided to railway employees, and a recently signed amendment of the fares tariff guarantees the preservation of these benefits. Nevertheless, a fundamental factor affecting the overall position of the railway trade unions and ČD at the start of the bargaining process is the fact that the unions could not agree on a joint draft collective agreement to present to the employer as the basis for negotiation, which enabled management to seize the initiative.

Preliminary standpoint of trade unions

The trade unions regard the employer’s draft collective agreement as restrictive. According to a statement by the First Deputy Chair of OSŽ, Jaroslav Pejša, the trade union federation believes that it is influential enough to compel the employer to reconsider its intentions. OSŽ will strive to preserve the current length of working time and it plans to reject the proposal to cut the existing leave allowance – a proposal which the trade unions believe conflicts with the applicable government regulation on the length of working time in the railways sector. OSŽ will demand that this regulation is respected in the collective agreement for 2009.

Next steps

During their consultations to date, the trade union federations operating in the railways sector have agreed that they will try to maintain a united front in negotiations. This cooperation has resulted in a single company-level collective agreement for all ČD employees and those working for the subsidiary ČD Cargo (ČD Cargo, a.s.), which handles freight transport of industrial and agricultural commodities, raw materials, fuels and propellants, goods, containers and oversized loads. However, both ČD and ČD Cargo employees are currently demanding that, with the exception of the opening session, two separate streams of collective bargaining should be undertaken.

On 29 September 2008, a meeting of the trade unions’ delegated representatives took place to discuss the draft collective agreement presented by the employer. The railway unions still believe that a united front is essential; otherwise, the risk arises that no collective agreement would be signed, which would have negative consequences for employees.

The first joint week-long session of collective bargaining between representatives of the trade unions and the employer was scheduled to start on 20 October 2008 at a venue outside the capital city of Prague. This session would be followed by the usual bargaining process of one-day meetings held in Prague.