Prague's subway network and trains across the country have ground to a halt after transport workers went on strike to protest proposed government reforms, according to AP. Other forms of public transport in major cities were also affected by Thursday's one-day strike. Transport unionists claim pension and health care system reforms being discussed by parliament are unjust and will harm a majority of Czechs. Among the proposed changes, the government wants to gradually raise the pension age to 67 and increase a fee those who are hospitalized have to pay. Railways worker Jaroslav Matejicek, who joined a protest march of hundreds of unionists in Prague said: «The reforms are bad.» «You will pay dearly,» Jaroslav Zavadil, head of the biggest umbrella unions organization, told the crowd. Prime Minister Petr Necas has repeatedly said the government is not ready to give in because the reforms are necessary. Many Czechs opted to take a day off. Others walked to work or rode bicycles. Robert Riedl in Prague was one of them. «I think that it is really wonderful,» Riedl said. «What we need in Prague is for people to try to get to work by bicycle. Who knows maybe we won't need the trams anymore.» President Vaclav Klaus criticized the protest Thursday, saying «the strike doesn't solve anything.» Klaus, who turns 70 on Sunday, had to cancel his Thursday's birthday party in fear of possible traffic jams. The unions threatened to stage further protests if the reforms are not changed.
