Last Thursday ČSSD leader Jiří Paroubek visited a Kutná Hora labour office and discussed the growing unemployment numbers with local public servants. The servants mentioned Taiwanese company Foxconn, which produces LCD screens in the region and employs many Mongolian and Vietnamese workers since “Czechs are less interested in working in shifts”. In response Paroubek said that foreign workers “lower the value of work”. He went on to say: “It is unsuitable to employ people from different cultures. They will stay here afterwards. They’ll learn the language, have children, and then you have an ethnic problem”.
Paroubek responded to Aktuálně.cz’s report of his statements, saying he “categorically rejects the fabricated information of some media about my allegedly ‘racist statement'”. Paroubek said that his comment was altogether in accord with the government immigration policy that the “state should prefer immigration from close civilisation groups – i.e. countries from eastern and south-eastern Europe”.
One of our readers thinks it is the government’s tax incentives are to be blamed for the problem of unemployment. What do you think?
• Are Paroubek’s words racist?
• Could Paroubek’s statement help him in the elections?
• Are tax incentives at the root of the problem?
Please let us know what you think by adding your comments below.