Reemo Voltri, head of the Estonian Education Workers Union, said last week that the union wants to channel virtually all the money into raising the minimum wage. The teachers are asking for at least a 5% salary increase, but at the moment it seems that no agreement will be reached.
Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev confirmed to ERR today that the government intends to increase the minimum salary of teachers by 3% and allocate the rest of the money to increasing the differentiation fund.
“Every additional million in the state budget means an increase in taxes,” Võrklaev commented on the teachers’ wish. “However, the Estonian people said that the limit of tax increases is largely exceeded. If we take on some additional expenses, we cannot face them knowing that we will ask for a loan for this,” Võrklaev said.
He added that a total of 60 million euros have been allocated for education in the state budget. “It is not only appropriate to talk about the minimum salary for teachers, but also about the differentiation fund, which gives the school director the possibility of paying teachers an additional salary, for example, for their qualifications. We will increase it to 20%”, Võrklaev said. “There’s really no reason to go on strike,” he said.
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2023-12-04 14:30:26
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