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A higher salary within the tariff component – the part employees can rely on every month (unlike personal bonuses) – that is the fundamental change employees at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen will notice on their payslips from 2026. Representatives of the trade unions were involved in drafting the new regulation from the very beginning. “Our aim was to find a solution that would genuinely improve conditions for employees while remaining sustainable in the long term,” said Petr Baierl, chair of the Higher Education Trade Union, which brings together the largest number of employees at the university. The new regulation reflects the current state of the university and introduces a new framework for employee remuneration by establishing new tariff grades.

“For employees, this is a change that brings greater security and stability. Although there is currently no room in university budgets for regular across-the-board pay increases, the new tariff grades with higher tariff components are certainly a welcome step forward. We would like to raise salaries even more, but unfortunately the university’s current revenues do not yet allow for that,” said UWB rector Miroslav Lávička.

According to the university leadership, cooperation with the unions has shown that a joint approach is the most beneficial for employees. “Trade unions can play a key role in setting the rules that have a fundamental impact on the university community. What matters, however, is that they represent employees with one voice – fragmenting their efforts into more and more narrowly defined organizations weakens the bargaining position of the university’s staff as a whole,” the rector stressed.

The rector and the union chair also agree that the key task remains to push for greater financial support for public universities from the state. According to the university leadership, salary increases are only realistic if the state significantly raises its contribution to their funding. “We are well aware that the university is heavily dependent on the resources it receives from the state. It is therefore our long-term joint responsibility to ensure that these resources grow,” added Petr Baierl.

Employees of public universities are not civil servants. The currently discussed pay increases for teachers and other civil servants therefore do not apply to university lecturers.