Pärtel-Peeter Pere, chairman of the Reform Party faction of the Tallinn City Council, announced at the beginning of the week that Tallinn should raise the salaries of teachers in kindergartens and general education schools by 200 euros per month. In this regard, only one question arises: is there a limit to the cynicism and superficiality of the reformists?
The coalition agreement between the Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party and Estonia 200 states that the government’s goal is to raise the minimum salary for teachers to 120 percent of the national average within four years. However, things do not go beyond loud promises.
In 2024, teachers will receive an incredible salary increase – as much as 1.7 percent! This means that instead of the previous 1749 euros (gross), the minimum salary for a teacher is 1778 euros. Considering the rapid increase in prices and the increase initially promised in the coalition agreement, this cannot be called anything but a mockery. Putting aside the fact that the consumer price index increased by five percent in a year-on-year comparison, the wage poverty of educators is only getting worse.
Desperate teachers announced that they were preparing a general strike. And what does the prime minister’s party do in this situation? Demands a salary increase for teachers… from Tallinn. It is surprising that, according to the logic of reform parties, the capital does not have to pay salaries to policemen and rescuers, whose salaries have been frozen by the government at the current level. But who knows, maybe such an idea will also be heard in the Tallinn City Council…
Why does the Reform Party not abolish the kindergarten place fee in Tartu?
Requiring Tallinn to fulfill the state’s direct obligations has already become a standard practice for the Reform Party. The squirrels have repeatedly proposed that Tallinn secure a free kindergarten place, and this was also one of their main promises before the Riigikogu elections. You can guess ten times whether they have come from words to deeds.
And demanding this from Tallinn is a very convenient way of justifying one’s inaction at the level of the state and those municipalities where the Reform Party is in power. Coming up with populist initiatives at a time when there is opposition in Tallinn does not require any responsibility.
For example, in Tartu, where the Reform Party has been in charge of the city government for many years, kindergarten places (81 euros per month) and meals are paid, and I have yet to see the Reform Party make any effort to release the parents there from financial obligations. Moreover, the deputy mayor of Tartu, Mihkel Lees, from the reform party, called the idea of abolishing the kindergarten place fee populist and non-negotiable.
As for Tallinn, kindergartens in the capital have a place fee exemption starting from the second child. In addition, Tallinn pays most of the costs of catering for kindergartens, which is three euros per day per child.
Reform parties say that a 200-euro monthly salary increase for teachers would cost Tallinn three million euros. Which is a half-truth as it only covers November and December of this year. Next year, such a step would mean 18 (!) million euros to the city budget.
The country could learn from Tallinn
I would like to remind you that the city of Tallinn is already ahead of the country in the performance of some functions. For example, the government has not increased the school lunch allowance for the sixth year, keeping it at one euro per student per day. At the same time, Tallinn has already raised it twice – both last year and this year.
A month ago, the Center Party faction of the Riigikogu tried to increase the state’s part of paying for school lunches, but the coalition parties rejected our bill. In addition, as already mentioned, Tallinn pays for catering for kindergartens, and the subsidy was recently raised from two euros to three euros per day per child, but the state does not pay a cent for catering for kindergartens.
For a long time, Tallinn has supported families with children and teachers in a targeted manner: this includes the annual payment of a backpack allowance for a first-grade student, school support for students from the second grade until graduation; for 14 years already, the city has raised the salaries of kindergarten teachers, bringing them to the level of school teachers; special motivation packages are provided for teachers.
What is the Reform Party currently doing at the state level? Cuts family allowances, raises existing taxes and introduces new ones, freezes the salaries of policemen and rescuers, closes the rescue command in North Tallinn…
They divert attention from their own incompetence
Now the squirrels, who have refused a proper salary increase for teachers, i.e. once again backtracked on their promises, are trying to shift the responsibility to Tallinn. A rather old and banal way to divert people’s attention from their own failed policies and the consequent decline in party ratings.
It also tries to give the impression that the planned teachers’ strike is related to something other than teachers’ indignation at the government’s inaction. However, the people see everything and the mentioned rating collapse is a direct proof of this.
In fact, attempts to shift responsibility onto Tallinn’s neck, forcing the city to fulfill state obligations, are the height of unprofessionalism. The reform party leads everything to the point that the city should become a state within a state due to their incompetence at the state level.
If the Reform Party is not able to manage the country and wants to place more and more of its responsibilities on the capital and other municipalities, suddenly the power in the country should be transferred to other political forces.
The article was also published in Postimehe.
