Final Word from Monday, May 15, 2006
Founder and CEO John Mackey of Whole Foods of the U.S. said the objective of labor unions is to boost their membership so that the salaries and influence of their leaders increases. Milan Štěch of ČMKOS would no doubt deny this, but the behavior of the unions tends to confirm it. The new labor code was vetoed by the president but will be passed later this month in an override by ČSSD and the Communists. The unions are nevertheless calling for a protest against the veto. They'll undoubtedly push for another protest if, after the elections, an ODS-led cabinet moves to abolish the code before it takes effect. The end result, one hopes, will be a labor code that both employers and employees can live with. The unions could have achieved this same goal if they had been more reasonable from the beginning. But that wouldn't have given them the chance to beat their drum so loudly. [Czech Republic Václav Klaus KSČM Communist Party]