The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic is a central state administration body, headed in September 2026 by Minister Lubomír Metnar (ANO), who announced a plan to raise the pay of the security forces.
The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic is a central state administration body. In September 2026 it was headed by Minister Lubomír Metnar (ANO) [1].
Plan to raise the pay of the security forces
On 29 September 2026, the Ministry of the Interior held a press conference in Prague on the 2027 budget for police officers, firefighters and other security forces [1]. The speakers at the conference were Minister Lubomír Metnar, Eduard Šuster, chief director of the ministry’s economics and operations section, Jaromír Bischof, deputy police president for economics, and Petr Ošlejšek, director general of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic [1]. After talks with trade unionists the same day, Metnar said that the pay of police officers, firefighters, customs officers and prison service members is to rise by 2,600 to 2,900 crowns a month every year in 2027–2029 [1]. According to the plan, the tariff component is to rise by 1,300 crowns a year, and the stabilisation supplement is to rise by the same amount; according to the ministry, the remaining 300 crowns are to go to above-tariff components of pay, such as standby duty or overtime [1]. The ministry wants the starting salary of police officers and firefighters after completing professional training to be 50,000 crowns by the beginning of 2029 [1][3]. According to Metnar, the ministry’s aim is for the average pay of police officers and firefighters to exceed 65,000 crowns a month [3]. The ministry also counts on increasing the number of posts in the police by roughly 1,500 and in the fire service by roughly one hundred, and on increasing funds for cybersecurity by 240 million crowns [1][3]. According to the plan, funds for volunteer firefighters are also to rise, by 50 million crowns [3].
Statements by the minister and a former minister
Metnar said of the proposal: “Of course there were comments on it, but no better model was found.” [1] He said that the negotiations with the unions had been long but constructive, and added: “I think we have achieved the maximum possible.” [1] According to the minister, dividing the money between the tariff part and the stabilisation supplement is fairer than the across-the-board increase of tariffs that the unions demand [1]. Former Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) said on Czech Television that the previous government had already announced the same pay growth, its medium-term outlook having assumed an annual tariff increase of five per cent, which in his view corresponds to roughly 2,900 crowns [1]. Rakušan added: “I congratulate him on painting pink what has already been approved.” [1]
Position of the unions
The ministry’s plan is not to the liking of the trade union organisations [1]. Aleš Lehký, chairman of the Union of Security Forces (Unie bezpečnostních složek), said that the trade union movements in the ministry’s sector would unify their position and would ask for a meeting with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová (both ANO) [1]. The Union of Security Forces demands that the money for pay rises go only to tariffs, and stated on its website that the trade union organisations representing members of the security forces jointly demand an increase of basic tariffs by ten per cent [1]. The Independent Trade Union of the Police of the Czech Republic stated in a statement to the Czech News Agency that it agrees with keeping to the medium-term plan for raising pay, but demands an increase in service income of ten per cent from 2027 in all tariff classes and grades [1]. The union’s chairman Tomáš Machovič said that pay growth should not be based mainly on the non-entitlement component [1].
Chronology
- — Minister of the Interior Lubomír Metnar announced that the pay of police officers, firefighters, customs officers and prison service members will rise by 2,600 to 2,900 crowns a month every year in 2027–2029. → ČTK / České noviny ČTK / České noviny
What links here
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 29 September 2026
- ČT24 — 29 September 2026
- Deník.cz — 29 September 2026