“Tallinn pays salaries during a strike, which is against the law. The law says that the strike is voluntary and unpaid. If Tallinn pays the salary, then Tallinn will want to use the teachers in its political struggle against the government,” he said. said Kallas in the First Studio on Tuesday.
Harri Taliga, adviser to the national conciliator, agreed with the prime minister’s statement. “If the employer continues to pay wages during the strike, they add fuel to the fire and do themselves double damage. It’s like saying: screw it, boys and girls, hurt me as much as you can and I will continue to pay you,” he said.
However, on the website of the Estonian Educators’ Union (EHL), it is stated that the payment of salaries during the strike period is not mandatory, but at the same time it is not prohibited. As a condition it is written that the striking employees will withhold their wages if the strike leader has informed the director of the training institution in writing at least five working days in advance about the number of employees participating in the strike and the director of the educational institution The institution informs the Tallinn Education Council no later than the following day. Furthermore, at the beginning of each strike day, the strike leader must collect the paper signatures of the strikers and deliver them to the educational leader by 11 am on the same day. In case of late notifications, the head of the educational institution decides on the maintenance of the salary.
According to Kaarel Rundu, the Tallinn Ministry of Education has come to the conclusion that paying a salary is not illegal. “We start from the position of the national conciliator, that is, that there is the right not to pay, therefore there is also the right to continue paying the salary,” said Kaarel Rundu, adding that the national conciliator also presented his written position.
However, according to Harri Taliga, according to the law on collective labor dispute resolution, wages are not paid during the strike and the Tallinn Board of Education misunderstood them. “The law states unequivocally that the employer has no decision-making power in this case. If the legislator had wanted to leave the right of decision to the employer, the provision would have written that there is the right not to pay the salary. Since this has not been done, paying wages during a strike is against the law according to the Law on Settlement of Collective Labor Disputes,” he said.
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2024-01-10 13:07:13
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