According to the annual report of the Social Watch organization, the government in the Czech Republic did not solve the crisis strategically. They under-analyze the steps taken and preparations for other extraordinary events. The development of the epidemic was accompanied by chaos. There is now a risk of deepening energy poverty. Environmental plans to protect the climate are less ambitious, but they also lack social sensitivity.
“Unlike some politicians, we believe that the government should look after citizens to safeguard basic rights such as the right to health and life. The idea that the economy is a field with special laws regardless of what happens in society is a delusion. focusing on constant growth and profit maximization, turned out to be destructive,” said Jiří Siln, chairman of the Czech Social Watch coalition. The document, presented by its authors at a press conference on Tuesday, evaluates much of last year and the first quarter of this year.
According to the authors, there is a lack of strategic crisis management and analysis of measures taken, lessons learned and preparation for possible further shocks. “Czech politics has always focused only on the current short period of time. It does not reflect developments, does not prepare for future risks,” added the head of the Czech Social Watch coalition.
Social Watch is a network of international organizations focused on fighting poverty, protecting human rights, protecting the climate and promoting equal opportunity. It monitors compliance with international conventions on social and cultural or civil rights. The Czech Coalition consists of ten associations.
The authors title this year’s report “Profit or Human Rights”. The annual document has three chapters. They focus on economics, health and care and ecological transformation. Among others, left-wing economist Ilona vihlíková, head of the health union Dagmar itníková and environmental activist Milan Smrž contributed to the text.
According to the report, the epidemic was accompanied by chaos. The court overturned the action, the state could not enforce the rules. Tax changes are unsystematic, ignore fair arrangements and deepen budget deficits. The report mentions the abolition of super-gross wages or real estate taxes. He identified a fixed rate meal plan, a VAT change or the construction of a reverse tax return as questionable steps. Inequality between the self-employed and the employee deepens the fixing of fixed rates, it could have “fatal consequences for pension reform”, according to the report.
He called electronicization in the health sector a positive document, such as the use of e-prescriptions and e-invalid, infectious disease reporting systems, or linking registers. They also positively evaluated the supply of vaccines and the establishment of vaccination centers as well as the provision of money for gifts. The report criticized ill-prepared and unclear anti-epidemic regulations, replacement of the health minister and inconsistent management and unpreparedness for a possible further epidemic. This points to the unavailability of social services, as well as a lack of staff, their low wages and overload.
According to Social Watch, the EU’s environmental goals and plans are not overly ambitious, but they also lack social sensitivity and equity aspects. In the Czech Republic, there is no serious debate about energy and climate change, it is limited to the “weird pre-election debate” about ending sales of internal combustion engines, the authors say. They warn that without strengthening renewable energy sources, energy poverty will worsen.
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