Social Policy

The czech society mostly think that reforms in various areas are necessary.The strongest need for reform is in area of housing and health care system, mainly also in area of pensions , social benefits and taxes.In March 65 % - 70% of respondents agreed with opinion that Czech Republic need radical reforms in all mentioned areas.When talking about concrete problems, they insist on enhancement of social measure.

Nine out of ten citizens of Czech Republic would support salary provided by state for people, who look after old or handicapped family members in their own household. 84% of respondents think, that state should give financial support to enterprises, which make new vacancies. Seven out of 10 Czechs agree with no support for unemployed people, who would refuse to accept less-paid job. Respondents were mostly against charge for seeing a doctor and distribution of medicine, this reform would not be supported by more than three quarters of Czech citizens.

State expenditures on social policy in general and in its partial areas are always supposed to be low than high. The exception is unemployment benefit, where number of those who think this benefit is low (36 %) did not outbalance the number ot those who consider it to be appropriate (38 %), the most frequent answer was that state expenditures are low in this area. With the exception of expenditures on unemployment benefit, employment policy and a guarantee of living wage - the number of those (who suppose state expenditures on social policy to be low) was about 49 - 55 %.

In November survey CVVM interrogated the citizens about their opinions on introduction or application of provision, which could be called for popularisation of population. Major part of respondents voted for almost all of these provisions (definitely yes, probably yes).

Only 29% of respondents think that the government cares for the social situation of their people in an adequate way, whilst two thirds (65%) of respondents think that it is insufficient, contrary to 4% who perceive it as excessive. Views on social care provided by the government to families with young children are even less favourable when only less than a quarter of respondents (24%) marked it as adequate, 71% respondents evaluated it as insufficient and 2% think it is excessive.

Out of the seven assessed social conditions the access to education was evaluated to be good (80%) and access to health care to be good (68%) by the majority of respondents. Areas such as jobs vacancies, social security for the elderly, standard of living for the handicapped and mainly financial conditions to start a family or to get a flat were evaluated in a very critical way. The current censuses show the considerable discontent of inhabitants as far as the chance to get a flat, financial security to start a family are concerned, which have been present since 1996.

The majority of respondents evaluate the access to education (71%) and health care (66%) as being very good. Other investigated areas such as job opportunities, social security for the elderly, standard of living for the handicapped, and mainly financial conditions to start a family or to get a flat are assessed in a very critical way. The respondents were unanimous in their views on life conditions of officials, civil servants and entrepreneurs which they considered to be the best (78% or more precisely 74%).