Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka.
Prague – Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) wants to check the management of the Labor Office of the Czech Republic, he gave an initiative to the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ). According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MPSV), a suspicion of wasteful handling of public money has emerged. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications stated this on Twitter today. Two weeks ago, Jurečka dismissed the general director of the office, Viktor Najmon, who is defending himself against it.
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“The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as the superior body of the Labor Office, has identified facts that could indicate wasteful use of public funds by the Ú,” said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on Twitter. “For this reason, the minister forwarded the initiative to the SAO,” it added.
Jurečka dismissed Najmon in mid-February on the grounds that he had been dissatisfied with his management of the office for a long time, accusing him of not solving problems. Najmon considers his removal from office to be arbitrary and illegal, and appealed against the decision through the Secretary of State. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the decision was issued in accordance with the Civil Service Act, and Najmon's appeal does not change the ministry's position.
Labor offices have been facing an onslaught since last year. They are receiving criticism for delayed processing and payment of benefits. Minister Najmon criticized repeatedly. Two weeks ago, at a meeting of the social committees of the House and the Senate, he said that the labor office was not working well. He mentioned several times last year that the CEO was not proactive enough in solving problems. According to the minister, despite the proposed measures, the situation did not develop well. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will announce a selection process for the post of Director General of the Labor Office. The office is temporarily headed by the senior director of the ministry's information technology section, Karel Trpkoš.
In a statement published on the Forum24 server, Jurečka denied Wednesday's Mladé fronta Dnes (MfD) information that the Labor Office under Najmon's leadership investigated the bullying of subordinates at the branch in Liberec, which at the time was headed by Jurečka's current deputy, Kateřina Sadílková. According to the newspaper, Najmon sent a message to the ministry that he would punish Sadílková for bullying and that the police would take over the case, but the message disappeared from the ministry's data box. Jurečka stated that no such document had arrived at the ministry, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was never contacted by the police regarding any investigation related to Sadílková.
Hospodářské noviny (HN) wrote on Wednesday that the unions of the Labor Office drew attention to the missing control mechanisms in a letter to Jurečka for the computerized system of automatic assessment and approval of some benefits. The procedure, which was supposed to save the work of officials, turned out to be exploitable. According to the newspaper, the benefits were also paid to applicants who were not entitled to them, it concerned a contribution for accommodation of Ukrainian refugees before the war, direct support for refugees in the form of a humanitarian benefit and a one-time five thousand stipend per child. According to HN, Trpkoš admitted abuse to the unions in his reply, but according to him, cost savings are essential.
