Czech Post – illustration photo.
Prague – Deputies of the ANO opposition movement have called the fifth extraordinary meeting of the House in recent times, this time on the situation in the Czech Post. The Speaker of the Lower Chamber, Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09), today called this meeting for the afternoon of Wednesday, March 8, her spokesperson Martin Churavý informed ČTK. Before that, on the same day, the MPs will meet for a pair of other meetings, also called on the initiative of ANO, on the movement's proposal to increase the parental allowance by a third with subsequent regular valorization and on food prices.
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Already on Friday, Pekarová Adamová called two meetings on the initiative of ANO legislators, namely on the availability of certain medicines and on the proposal to freeze the salaries of top politicians for five years. The date of their commencement will depend mainly on the progress of the current extraordinary meeting convened at the initiative of coalition MPs regarding the controversial government proposal to reduce the June valorization of pensions.
Czech Post has been in the red in recent years. Last year, it reduced its loss by half to 681 million crowns. In the previous year, it reported a drop of 1.37 billion crowns. Operating revenues in 2021 increased by 400 million to 19.55 billion crowns. The post office operates approximately 3,200 branches in the country and, based on a license from the Czech Telecommunications Office, provides basic postal services throughout the country.
The state wants to start a large-scale transformation of the Czech Post this year. Its goal will be to reduce costs and modernize services. According to the statement of the Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušana (STAN) in February, the possible division of the state enterprise and services will also be addressed. According to preliminary plans, non-profit services, such as letter mail, could remain under the state. Services that can be competitive on the market, such as parcel or logistics services, could then move into the second branch. According to the Austrian, this part could take the form of a joint-stock company in which the state should have a full or at least a partial share. The acting director of Czech Post, Miroslav Štěpán, said at the beginning of March that the transformation of the company will have an impact on the number of branches and the portfolio of products and services.
