Czech government approves minimum monthly wage rise to $739 from January

PRAGUE – The Czech government has approved a rise in the minimum gross monthly wage by 1,000 crowns to 16,200 crowns ($739) from January, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlicek told Reuters.

The minimum wage is paid to about 150,000 of the country’s four million employees, but it is also used as a benchmark to determine higher wages in a number of professions.

The average monthly gross wage was 38,275 crowns (1,511 euros) in the second quarter.

($1 = 21.9170 Czech crowns)

(1 euro = 25.3339 Czech crowns)

(Reporting by Robert Muller; Editing by Alexander Smith)