Czech news in brief for April 26: Sunday's top morning headlines

Czech trade unions are calling for lowering the retirement age back to 65, reducing the workweek to 37.5 hours without pay cuts, and guaranteeing five weeks of paid vacation for all employees. The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions also opposes planned labor code changes on platform work, warning they could weaken worker protections and expand precarious employment. The proposals are part of the union’s new four-year program focused on wages, pensions and labor rights.

Organizers said public interest in Saturday’s Spring Food Collection was strong, with donation baskets filling quickly from early morning across Czechia. The one-day charity drive took place in more than 3,500 shops nationwide, around a quarter more than last year. Donations will support seniors, single parents, homeless people and families in crisis through the country’s food bank network.

Three-quarters of Czechs view U.S. President Donald Trump negatively, his worst rating yet in Czech public opinion surveys, according to a new STEM poll. Only Russian President Vladimir Putin was viewed more negatively. The poll found stronger ratings for other foreign figures, including Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Pope Leo XIV. Austria, Italy, and Poland ranked among Czechs’ most positively viewed countries.

Czech municipalities may be required to fund the capture and neutering of stray and feral cats under a proposed amendment backed by coalition lawmakers. The bill would also make towns responsible for abandoned domestic animals if no owner is found. The proposal would raise penalties for animal abuse, extend animal ownership bans to 10 years, and allow police broader access to homes in suspected abuse cases, including illegal breeding operations.

The West Bohemian Museum in Pilsen opened its normally closed library to the public on Saturday to mark 550 years since the first printed book in the Czech lands. Visitors were shown rare early printed books, facsimiles and original works from the late 15th century. The exhibition commemorates the 1476 printing of the Statutes of Arnošt of Pardubice in Pilsen, considered the oldest dated printed book produced in Bohemia.