Tünde Bartha, head of the Government Office, presented to ministers at a government meeting on 21 September 2026 a proposal under which offices would cut the number of posts by ten percent from January 2027. According to the server Seznam Zprávy, to which Prime Minister Andrej Babiš confirmed it, the proposal was formally submitted by Babiš, but at the meeting it was defended by Bartha [1][2][4].
Content of the proposal
The document instructs members of the government and heads of central bodies to reduce, as of 1 January 2027, the number of posts in managed and subordinate administrative offices by a total of ten percent [3]. The same requirement is to apply to other central bodies, for example the Czech Statistical Office, the Czech Telecommunications Office, the Office for the Protection of Competition, the Czech Mining Office or the Energy Regulatory Office [3]. Bartha handed out the draft resolution to ministers directly at the government meeting; it was not on the agenda of the session [1][2][5].
Reactions of ministers
Ministers criticised that they had not known about the proposal in advance, and they objected to the short deadline for meeting it; they would have roughly three months to carry out the cuts [3]. Finance Minister Alena Schillerová told the server Echo24: “We still have to say exactly whom this should concern. But I support it, we will sort this out technically” [2]. Environment Minister Igor Červený (Motorists) said that he had already cut posts, and Education Minister Robert Plaga (ANO) objected that none of the agendas that officials handle had been reduced [2][3]. Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček (ANO) said that he had already reduced the number of posts by a tenth, and added: “I can imagine further reductions, but we must go lower, that is, to the organisations under the ministries” [2][3].
Interruption of the discussion and Babiš's position
The cabinet interrupted discussion of the resolution, among other reasons because it was not clear which offices and institutions the dismissals would affect [2][3]. In the Chamber of Deputies on 29 September 2026 Babiš rejected that this was a case of reckless cuts and said that the government is getting rid of officials it does not need [1][4]. He told the server Seznam Zprávy: “Yes, we proposed it in the government, there was a big debate about it. Ministers got tables with the background materials, they must try harder, there is certainly room there” [1][2]. He later said that the call to ministers does not concern a deadline from January, but long-term savings [5].
Reaction of trade unions
Trade unions reject the proposal by Bartha and Babiš to cut a tenth of posts in state administration and described it as decimation [3]. According to the unions, an audit of the agenda should be carried out first, and only then dismissals [3].
Chronology
- — According to Seznam Zprávy, Andrej Babiš and Tünde Bartha propose dismissing a tenth of civil servants. E15 ČT24
Sources
- E15 — 29 September 2026
- Echo24 — 29 September 2026
- Blesk.cz — 29 September 2026
- ČT24 — 29 September 2026
- Novinky.cz — 29 September 2026