Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
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Lidovky.cz

Interior Ministry officials earned more than Klaus

  12:02

Top lawyer Tomáš Sokol is preparing a collective action against the Czech state over authorities’ failure to disclose data on bonuses

Jan Kubice (right) takes over an administrative shambles from his predecessor Radek John foto: © ČTKČeská pozice

Thanks to exceptionally high bonuses, ten senior officials in the Czech Interior Ministry earned more on average per month in 2010 than did any Cabinet minister (at Kč 106,900 per month) with many earning more than Prime Minister Petr Nečas (Kč 150,400) and President Václav Klaus (Kč 186,700 per month), news server Aktuálně.cz reported on Thursday.

The news follows on reports in other media that former Justice Minister Daniela Kovářová, now under police investigation for alleged bribery, also paid her subordinates huge bonuses. As first reported by Czech Position in February, Education Minister Josef Dobeš (Public Affairs, VV) has also paid out quarterly bonuses exceeding Kč 100,000.

Interior Minister Jan Kubice provided information on the salaries and bonuses paid to ministry officials last year following a request from Aktuálně.cz, which has also asked 50 state administration offices to follow suit.The vast majority of offices of state administration have refused to disclose the amount of bonuses paid to officials from public funds.

“The vast majority, however, refused to disclose the amount paid to officials from public funds,” wrote the publication’s top investigative reporter, Sabina Slonková. “Our editors therefore hired the office of renowned lawyer Tomáš Sokol, which due to the authorities’ failure to disclose the information is preparing a collective action against the state.” 

Oldřich Kužílek, an adviser on freedom of information in state administration, told Czech Position earlier this year that the public is entitled by law to know the qualifications of and other details about their civil servants (Personal Data Protection Act, Act No. 101/2000 Coll. - §5 Paragraph 2, Section f).

“If a public office refuses to communicate with a particular journalist because they ask difficult factual questions, then they are, in my opinion, failing in their duty to provide information about the office’s work. This is required by Article 17 Paragraph 5 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms,” Kužílek said.

Setting the ceiling

Kubice’s predecessor as Interior Minister, Public Affairs (VV) chairman Radek John — who briefly served as the government’s so-called “anti-corruption Czar” — failed to respond to Aktuálně.cz’s questions as to why he had awarded such high bonuses and other compensation to his subordinates.

John severed as Interior Minister from July 2010 until April this year, when he was pushed to step down due to his connections to the controversial security and detective agency ABL founded by VV paymaster and de factor chairman Vít Bárta, who resigned as Transport Minister.

In November and December last year, John paid “Christmas bonuses” to ministry employees totalling Kč 28.1 million crowns — a third of which went to people in senior posts. According to Týden magazine, the lion’s share, or Kč 2.7 million crowns, went to John’s five VV deputies, the police inspection head, firefighters’ corps director, and heads of three departments subordinate to the Interior Minister and his head of office.

“The bonuses started dramatically rising in the past three years. The biggest sums were paid under the tenure of Interior Minister Ivan Langer (in office 2006-2009) and under Martin Pecina (2009-2010) they were slightly smaller,” an indignant John — whose party campaigined on an anti-corruption platform and became a member of the ruling center-right coalition — told the daily Lidové noviny back in November 2010, ahead of news about his own generosity ahead of Christmas. “The inspection has started investigating their payment,” John added at the time.

The paper reported that 438 people working with the police received bonuses of over Kč 100,000 each in 2009 — which not only increased their earnings, but will also bolster their pensions as the bonus is included in it — citing figures made public by former senior police officer and deputy Stanislav Huml (VV).

This January, the police inspection said in reaction to an outcry in the media about the high bonuses that Czech Police senior officers received under John’s predecessors Ivan Langer (Civic Democrats, ODS) and Martin Pecina (Social Democrats, ČSSD) were not at variance with law. The outcry occured at a time of budget austerity and public sector wage cuts.  The main opposition party ČSSD was not convinced. “I do not consider it just that a few close aides to the minister receive an average of 245,000 crowns as a Christmas gift at the cost of the others,” the center-left party’s shadow interior minister Jeroným Tejc told the ČTK news agency.

Since taking up the post, Kubice has set ceilings for bonuses paid to Interior Ministry officials as well as to high-ranking officials in the police forces (in agreement with the new Chief of Police, Petr Lessy, who, for example, is entitled to an annual bonus of at most Kč 300,000, while bonuses for heads of regional divisions should not exceed Kč 200,000 per year).

Top Five earners at Interior Ministry*

Deputy Minister (No.1)
salary Kč 83,000
bonus Kč 180,000
Total Kč 263,000

Senior Director (No. 2)
salary Kč 78,500
bonus Kč 155,000
Total Kč 233,500

Deputy Minister (No. 3)
salary Kč 80,000
bonus Kč 94,833
Total Kč 174,833

Deputy Minister (No. 4)
salary Kč 80,100
bonus Kč 91,667
Total Kč 171,667

Senior Director (No. 5)
salary Kč 79,067
bonus Kč 81,667
Total Kč 160,734

*Average monthly earnings in 2010, according to Aktuálně.cz

By comparision, the monthly gross median wage in Prague in the business sector was Kč 28,631 and in the nonbusiness sector was Kč 27,723 in 2010 while nationwide last year, the gross median wage in business sector was Kč 22,207. Statistics as to the average bonuses paid out in the Czech public or private sector are not readily available.

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