Education and Research Minister Kristina Kallas confirmed after the budget negotiations ended on Thursday that the most important result was the agreement to raise the salaries of education and homeland security staff by around ten percent.

The minimum teacher salary will rise by 8.2 percent and the differentiation fund will increase by two percent. The minimum teacher's salary will be €1970 next year.

Kristina Kallas confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the teachers' union had reiterated its demand: next year the minimum wage must rise to 2,200 euros, or 21 percent. "Such a pace is currently not affordable for the state, municipalities or school owners," she said.

According to Kallas, the salary of a particular teacher depends on how much the municipality or school contributes from the differentiation fund. "It varies from school to school and from municipality to municipality," the minister added.

Differentiation of teachers' salaries by subject was also discussed. "It has been suggested that maths teachers could be paid more than others," said the minister. "I understand the problem of teacher shortages, but it is not the same everywhere. Some schools are looking for English teachers, others have a big shortage of Estonian teachers. Russian schools need teachers who can teach in Estonian. Setting a nationwide coefficient for just one subject solves the problem in one place, but raises concerns elsewhere."

According to the minister, it makes more sense to increase the differentiation fund, which gives schools and school leaders more freedom in setting salaries. "It will depend on the cost of finding a maths or an Estonian teacher on the labour market. If you increase the differentiation fund, you can pay higher salaries to those who are in greater demand," said Kallas.

For years, Estonian teachers have been waiting for what politicians have been promising - a teacher's salary starting at the national average. To do this, we asked for a 20% pay rise. It is clear that this will not materialise next year.

Asked whether wage differentiation could create a sense of inequality or jealousy in schools, the minister said, "Of course it can, but the reality is that teachers in certain subject areas can earn significantly higher salaries outside school. Teachers' salaries are therefore already differentiated to a certain extent, and this trend tends to get worse."

The Minister stressed that teachers' pay was his main objective in the budget negotiations. "Teachers' salaries have not risen properly for two years, their purchasing power has fallen. I will fight for at least a ten percent increase," he said.

Trade union: not enough

Reemo Voltri, chairman of the Union of Education Employees, described the negotiations as constructive and stressed that, in addition to the minister, representatives of several political parties and the Union of Cities and Municipalities were also at the table. "For years, Estonian teachers have been waiting for what politicians have promised - that teachers' salaries would start from the national average. To this end, we asked for a 20% pay rise. It is clear that this will not materialise next year," Voltri said.

A ten percent increase in the wage bill is not enough, he said, but at least it would stop the decline. "In recent years, teachers' pay has fallen by nearly ten percentage points compared to the national average. If we were to take even a small step towards an increase, we would at least be moving in the right direction," he said.

According to Mr Voltri, a ten per cent increase in the wage fund for a 35-hour week would raise the minimum teacher's salary from €1820 to €1970.

He stressed that the government's final decision will determine the next steps for teachers. "If a significantly lower percentage is agreed than the one the minister announced today, teachers will be forced to look for new ways to defend Estonian education. We have already asked them if they are ready for demonstrations or even a strike lasting several days. They are," said the union leader.

Minister Kallas confirmed that there were no threats of strikes at the table this time and that the negotiations were calm. However, the union's message is clear: if teachers' salaries do not move towards the national average, teachers are prepared to take more radical steps.

Municipalities' view: wage rises are coming, but pressure is mounting

On the side of the local governments, Robert Lippin, representative of the Estonian Association of Towns and Municipalities, pointed out that the problem is not only with teachers' salaries, but with the system in general.

Lippin stressed that the municipalities are not opposed to wage increases, but want a longer and clearer view. "It is not enough to discuss the options for next year every autumn. The national budget strategy is supposed to provide a longer-term plan, but in reality it is changed according to political needs," he said.

Asked whether municipalities can cope with a ten percent wage increase, Lippin replied: "In fact, we are talking about an increase of 8.2% in the minimum wage. Some municipalities have budgeted for a 7 % increase, others for only 5 %. It will certainly be more difficult for them if they opt for a higher increase."

Kose parish: we are making an effort, but we need state support

Kristel Kook-Aljas, education counsellor of Kose municipality, said that the municipality considers the increase in teachers' salaries to be justified, but that it will lead to a heavy workload. "An increase of 20% would be very difficult for the municipality," she said. "In addition to teachers, we also need to increase the salaries of kindergarten teachers. Nor can we overlook cultural and library workers and people in recreational education, whose salaries have been stagnant for years," he said.

According to Kook-Aljas, the government has a more realistic option on the table: an 8.2% wage increase combined with an increase in the differentiation fund. "We can do this if we make an effort and review our expenditure. We may have to restructure some posts to stay within budget."

Kook-Aljas stressed that the state should provide more support to local authorities in paying the salaries of nursery school teachers and recreational education staff. "At the moment, school leaders are struggling to find new teachers. Maths teachers and other specialists can easily find better paid jobs on the labour market. This is why we need to start differentiating salaries more: offering higher pay for teachers of subjects where schools are short of specialists. This may be a source of envy in schools, but we live in a market economy and we have to match supply and demand."

Author: toomas Raag, Õpetajate Leht
Photo by Ragnar Kaasik