The question of raising the salaries of educational workers has suddenly become one of the most acute problems of Estonian domestic politics. Specifically, creating the impression of this rise. When the government announced that the minimum wage for teachers would increase by 1.7% (or about 30 euros gross) from next January, teachers’ representatives were outraged and threatened with a strike. The warning strike already took place and seems to have spooked the coalition parties, who rushed to blame each other for the situation.
My attention was drawn to the fact that, for the second time in a short period of time, an opinion piece by a representative of the Reform Party is published in the media, where they try to put on a good face with a bad game and shift the responsibility for the failed policy to others, especially local governments. If at the beginning of last week, the chairman of the Reform Party faction of the Tallinn city council, Pärtel-Peeter Pere, said that the city of Tallinn should raise teachers’ salaries, then at the end of the week, Riigikogu deputy Maris Lauri (by the way, former minister of education) expanded the idea by writing the article “The ball is in the hands of municipalities to find money for teachers”. .
The policy of double standards
If in the past the squirrels often pointed out that in their opinion, Tallinn is a rich municipality and can bear additional costs, now it turns out that not only the capital, but also all other municipalities should fulfill the tasks of the state. However, many cities and municipalities are currently on the brink of survival as they have to cut operating costs and abandon vital investments. Due to the constant lack of funds, some small municipalities are forced to simply close schools or reduce the number of classes. We received similar feedback from local government representatives last week as part of the trip to Põlvamaa with the Riigikogu faction.
Maris Lauri’s statement, which he uses to justify the decision not to raise teachers’ salaries, is surprising: “There are areas that require more funding, and among them there are some that are really more acute in their need for money now.” But, unfortunately, this does not match the previous statements of the coalition that education and improving its quality are among the priorities of the current government. But Lauri advises municipalities to think about how to organize the school network, in other words, which schools could be closed or merged.
At the same time, I remind you that the coalition agreement states in black and white that the government aims to raise teachers’ salaries to 120% of the national average salary in four years. After the government’s “generous” 1.7 percent salary increase for teachers, their salary next year will be 1,778 euros (gross), which is clearly below the average salary in Estonia. Unfortunately, it is very far from the allowed 120% of the average salary.
The former minister’s claim that as a result of the elimination of the tax hump, teachers will get more pay, does not seem very convincing. After income tax reform (which, by the way, doesn’t take effect until 2025), the net gain is only 4%. At the same time, let’s not forget the car tax planned for 2025 and the price increase, which will be brought about by the increase in the VAT rate and fuel excise (and this already from 2024). So the real income of teachers (and everyone else) is unlikely to increase significantly.
It’s funny that Lauri laments in his article that municipalities do not participate in nationwide teacher salary negotiations. How has it happened that the local governments did not take the initiative and did not intervene in the negotiations between the state and representatives of educational workers? But let me remind you that when the government coalition decided to quickly raise several taxes at the same time, cut subsidies for large families, freeze the salaries of policemen and rescuers, close the North Tallinn Rescue Command and introduce a car tax, I did not notice that interest groups, including local governments, were actively involved in making these decisions.
I also don’t remember the ruling parties listening to anyone’s opinion at all. And now, with negotiations between the government and the Educators’ Union deadlocked, local governments were suddenly needed – such a policy of double standards. Instead of worrying about what the municipalities are doing or not doing, the government should simply fulfill its obligations – that is the main task of the coalition. However, if the government is unable to do this, one should seriously consider handing over power to other political forces.
Reform parties, learn from Tallinn!
You don’t have to look far for an example of responsible behavior in the field of education. The Tallinn city government has just announced that, in the current difficult situation, it will raise the class teacher’s fee to 200 euros per month from January next year. Currently, class teachers in the capital receive 100 euros in gymnasiums and 130 euros in elementary schools. As the former assistant mayor of Tallinn in the field of education, I know that this is a very expensive measure that will cost the city up to two million euros.
At the same time, we all see how Estonia’s 200 ministers of education and the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Reform Party settle their relations in the media and blame each other for the inability to reach a compromise with the education workers. And at the same time also for the teachers’ strike, which apparently cannot be avoided. Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev states that “the confusion surrounding the salary increase for teachers is the unfinished business of the Minister of Education”, however, Minister of Education Kristina Kallas claims that “he wanted to present a plan, but the Reform Party did not want to discuss it”.
It seems that when we are in opposition, we should be cheering for the way the coalition partners are fighting each other over this situation. As they say, grab some popcorn, sit back and watch! But to be honest, there is no joy. Looking at how the government is systematically turning the most important issue of teachers’ salaries into a farce, I just want to say – come to your senses, look at the big picture instead of your navel and finally do something worthy to eliminate the need for a general strike by educators.
The country has the money, it is only important to set the priorities correctly. Because a little more and the Estonian education system will simply collapse like a house of cards, when the people who are still holding it on their shoulders – largely out of a sense of mission – finally run out of patience.
