The Government of the Republic must do everything in its power to reach an agreement with the teachers so that the need to strike next week disappears – the money is available in the state budget, but there is no political will, said Vadim Belobrovtsev, vice-chairman of the Center Party faction, when handing over the draft decision of the Riigikogu.
“The Center Party faction of the Riigikogu is of the opinion that the government led by the Reform Party must urgently accept the compromise proposal of the Union of Estonian Education Workers to raise the minimum wage for teachers to 1,835 euros,” said Vadim Belobrovtsev. “This would help prevent the planned strike and give a signal to the education sector that the teachers’ concerns are taken care of by the state leaders. The given amount is already a response from the teachers compared to the original demand, according to which they wanted to raise the minimum wage to 1,950 euros, which would have meant an additional cost of 46 million euros to the state budget. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is not ready to find a compromise.”
According to Vadim Belobrovtsev, in addition to the salary increase, negotiations on the conclusion of a collective agreement for educational workers must be carried out on the salary agreement for the next three years and a collective agreement must be concluded with the Estonian Education Workers’ Union. “In order to ensure the sustainability and quality of the Estonian education system, it is essential to invest in teachers’ salary increases and give them long-term confidence. A qualified and motivated teaching staff is the cornerstone of the quality of education and directly affects the educational level and opportunities of future generations, as well as Estonia’s competitiveness in the long term,” said a member of the board of the Center Party.
Vadim Belobrovtsev noted that in addition to the salary issue, the workload conditions must also be modernized. “The shortage of teachers is increasing every year, which in turn increases the workload of current teachers. In connection with the transition to the Estonian language of instruction from September 2024, the workload of teachers will increase even more. One way to motivate teachers is a decent salary. In today’s government’s coalition agreement, it is clearly promised that the salary of teachers will be increased to 120% of the average salary in Estonia and that career models for educators will be created with an appropriate workload calculation and salary model. The current minimum salary for teachers of 1,778 euros is clearly below even the average salary in Estonia, and moving at such a pace, it is not possible to fulfill the promise stipulated in the coalition agreement,” emphasized the member of the Riigikogu culture committee.
