Cross-border work

What is it that Germans in the Czech Republic fear the most? Car thefts? Hostile waiters? Hana Adamcová shakes her head. „The language,“ she smiles. „Above all Germans are afraid of Czech.“ As a so-called Eures-adviser, Hana Adamcová has a specific perspective on Czech-German relationships. For 18 months, this 34-year-old blonde from the Ústí nad Labem employment office has been taking care of all those who do not want to limit their job search to their own country.

Czechs interested in work in another EU country can currently choose from ten „old“ EU members, including Ireland, Britain, Spain, Portugal, etc. But work just across the border, in Saxony, still requires a permit. Despite this, Hana Adamcová has been working hard on job opportunities in Germany. Last October, government authorities, unions, and employers from Saxony, northern Bohemia and lower Silesia signed a so-called Eures-TriRegio agreement, designed to establish a common labour market in which every Czech, German and Pole can get a job in the sector that is most interested in their labour.

German homework

„Every second Friday of the month, I go to Pirna in Saxony and tell the job seekers at the local employment office about working conditions in the Czech Republic,“ says Hana Adamcová. "Germans do not need a permit for this – and the interest really…