The government held talks with the councils of the Pardubice Region and the Vysočina Region and decided to increase the recruitment of workers from Indonesia

photo: vlada.gov.cz

This is the sixth time that the government of Petr Fiala has travelled to the regions for its outgoing session. On Wednesday, 19 June 2024, the government meeting took place at the Old Town Hall in Havlíčkův Brod, followed by a meeting with the councils of the Vysočina Region and the Pardubice Region.

During its term in office, the government of Petr Fiala has already held joint negotiations with twelve of the fourteen Czech regions (including the capital Prague)."We try to be close to the people, we go to the local governments, we hold outreach meetings on a regular basis so that we can discuss specific problems with the representatives of the respective regions on the ground and we have addressed specific issues," stated Prime Minister Petr Fiala. "We always address topics that affect those regions. And I would also like to remind you that for members of the government it is not only a meeting of the government and a meeting with regional governments, but it is also a full day in the region," reminded the Prime Minister, who today together with Transport Minister Martin Kupka visited an inspection day at the construction of another part of the D35 motorway near Vysoké Mýto.

The government dealt mainly with regional issues. The cabinet members took note of information from the Minister of Transport on important investment projects in transport infrastructure underway or in preparation in both regions. The largest constructions include in particular further sections of the D35 motorway in the Pardubice Region and the planned construction of a high-speed railway line from Poříčany via Světlá nad Sázavou to Brno, which are investments that will significantly improve transport accessibility throughout the Czech Republic. "It's important. Moving forward in transport infrastructure is crucial for life in the regions, for our citizens to be able to get from one place to another easily, and it is also important for the prosperity of the Czech Republic," emphasised Prime Minister Fiala.

The government also discussed information on the current status of the Socioeconomic Study Dukovany 2024, which aims to assess the benefits and risks of the construction of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant on the socio-economic development of the area concerned over time. KPMG Czech Republic has been appointed as the study's manager on the basis of a tender procedure and is to prepare it by September this year.

The Cabinet also discussed subsidy programmes of the Ministry of the Environment implemented in the Vysočina Region. The region can draw on both national and European subsidies for environmental projects. For example, in the Operational Programme Environment, the Vysočina Region has administered a total of 218 projects in the total amount of about CZK 2.7 billion, while the Region still has significant reserves in drawing on projects from the Modernisation Fund.

The government also approved an increase in the quota of work visas for skilled workers from Indonesia. It approved a new project proposal by the Ministry of Industry and Trade labour migration from Indonesiawhich, based on the good experience with the pilot project implemented together with Škoda Group, envisages the involvement of another thousand skilled workers, students and graduates of polytechnic schools from Indonesia in the Czech labour market.

The project involves companies with more than 500 tribal employees from the automotive, foundry, steel, rubber, chemical, transport and other industries that are interested in employing more than 100 Indonesian students or graduates on a two-year contract in a skilled position. In order to implement the project, the government has simultaneously amended the government regulation on the maximum number of applications for visa to stay over 90 days for business purposes, applications for long-term residence permit for investment purposes and applications for employment card that can be submitted to the embassy by increasing the quota for submission of employment card applications to the Jakarta embassy by 1,000 applications per year, from the current 150 to 1,150 applications per year. Details can be found in press release of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The government meeting was followed by meetings with the councils of both regions. "I would like to thank both Mr Schreka and Mr Netolický and their colleagues for a very substantive and concrete debate. We talked about several topics that are important - health care, education, the digitisation of construction management, the problems that plague the regions and what we can do about it as a government, what we can do about it legislatively and what we can do about it together, because many of these powers and competences, for example in the field of education or health care, are shared," said Prime Minister Fiala, mentioning for example the topic of access to health care, ensuring sufficient numbers of doctors and health professionals, financing education and the necessary restructuring of secondary education.

vlada.gov.cz/gnews.cz-roz_07