How much does a dignified life cost I. Choose the length of the subscription II. Choose something extra III. Enter your details and choose payment method I. Enter your details and choose payment method Petr Horký<

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The Mikulov family of four lives in a three-room apartment in Holešovice, Prague. The father of two adolescent children works as a chemist with a paid monthly salary of 29,000, the mother as a caregiver comes to 22,000. The family will therefore receive a net income of 38,000 every month. The spouses always immediately hand over 15,000 of the mortgage to the bank, another 5,000 are swallowed up by children's clubs, tuition fees and the Internet, so they have a total of 18,000 left over of all monthly traffic. The militiamen, at least as defined by statistics, are far from Mikulov, yet they often feel that they lack something fundamental. "Poor?" We probably aren't completely like that, "says Anna Mikulová, a short hesitation.

But when it comes to things the family can't afford, the list is surprisingly long. "We don't have a car. Neither do smartphones. My husband and I both bring home lunches. In the end, months of payday will save us nothing at all. We deal with the holiday for the little bitch in love, "Mikulová lists the family's financial strategy. The Mikulovs are missing fish, the beef is only occasionally set up, and lentil apostles are a suspiciously frequent dish. Clothes are bought exclusively from the second hand, including shoes.

When a family encounters an unexpected expense, it's always a bit of a mess. For example, when everyone needs a dentist at once, it costs several thousand. "We will pay for it, but we have to take it out or forgive our shoes," says Mikulová. The mother recently had to refuse her children vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis and ameningococcus. "When money is not about health, it annoys us more than material imperfections. When you pay a doctor with a card and it doesn't pass because of the lack of cash on the bill, it's a nice mess, "Mikulová recalls. However, the financial distress is said to be the worst when the couple argues in front of the children about what to buy and what not. "Then you get used to not buying things. To maintain one's own dignity, it is worse to know that more work is no longer possible and that pay is still not enough. The helplessness, constant, years-long stress. Astrak that you will pass it on to the children. "

Many Czechs are experiencing the feelings that Mikulová describes today, despite the numbers that prevail. Although they are not poor on paper, they are a long way from the general welfare they describe. This group may be bigger than we'd expect.

Common standard

The Czechia is currently pursuing a wave of economic growth and the lives of its inhabitants are known. Last year, the average wage exceeded 30,000 crowns and the number of unemployed people is the lowest in all of Europe, as is the number of people at risk of poverty. Czech households are rich and the poorest are doing better than a few years ago, statistics show. But the reality works: the idyllic picture of a prosperous country has recently been disrupted by, for example, a report by social scientists on the so-called Decent Wage Platform, which has flown through the local media. In mid-April, a group of academics and non-profit workers came up with a surprising claim that half of the Czech population did not receive a decent wage for their work, which would enable them to lead a full life.

Researchers describe it as a situation where one can afford to pay not only for basic necessities, such as housing, food and clothing, but also a certain above-standard. It should include a chance to go out once in a while, have lunch at a restaurant with a friend, or pay your children's ring membership. It is said that a good life also includes the opportunity to use a car, treat yourself to an educational course or be able to save part of your salary for worse times. Platform researchers have calculated that in order for an individual to achieve life in the Czech Republic, he or she needs to earn at least 30,000 crowns a month. Although only half of working people have such an income, scientists suggest that the other half do not live a full life.

The goal of the research authors is said to be definitely not a committed fight for higher wages. "We wanted to show how much it costs to live a normal life in the Czech Republic," says Lucie Trlifajová, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.