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The Czech government has agreed special social welfare payments for soon to be laid-off employees of the OKD mining company, which was declared bankrupt earlier this week.

The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade on Wednesday announced that changes to its pilot project smoothing the way for qualified workers from Ukraine to get jobs in the country have been agreed.

State-controlled electricity producer ČEZ has some reasons to be cheerful. It’s kicked off 2016 with net profits up by around a third at 10 billion crowns compared with the same period in 2015. And that’s in the face of still weak electricity prices compared with levels 12 months ago.

The Czech Republic along with Finland and Austria lead the European Union when it comes to a specific type of bullying in the workplace, known as mobbing. The figures from the European Foundation for Better Living and Working Conditions are being confirmed by local research being piloted at the University of Olomouc.

Prague has become the home of the largest toy store in Central Europe. This week the British chain Hamleys opened a new store in a former bank building in the centre of Prague. While the main Hamleys toy shop in London covers 4,500 square metres, the Prague store, which spreads over two storeys, covers more than 6,000 square metres.

Austrian furniture retailer XXXLutz is aiming to build what would be the biggest warehouse so far in the Czech Republic. The planned development covering around 150,000 square metres would dwarf warehouse already built for such corporations as Amazon, Lego, Internet sales company Mall.cz and US-based branded clothes and footwear seller VF Corporation.

Gun sales in the Czech Republic have been rising fast in recent months, while the number of Czechs applying for licenses is also growing. Experts suggest this is a response to worries over terrorist attacks and the migrant crisis.

The OKD hard coal company, belonging to New World Resources which is in controlled by the by the so-called Ad Hoc Group, filed for insolvency on Tuesday; the move had been expected after the government made clear last week it would not step in to help the long-ailing firm. The company issued a statement that it had filed with an aim to “restructure the company and maintain viable operations”.

Wage increases of 10 percent, way ahead of inflation, are now being pledged by some political parties for Czech health workers as well as teachers. And such sizable increases have also been seen in some of the most dynamic parts of the private sector as well.

With the summer holidays two months away, personnel agencies say the time is ripe for students and others to being applying for temp work, as firms ready to bolster regular staff numbers. Czech Radio reports that construction, landscaping and receptionist jobs are among those currently on offer. The number of ‘brigády’ (temporary jobs) in construction alone, doubled over the last month.