On Monday, the 22nd of January, Estonian general school teachers began an indefinite strike in Tallinn. The Estonian Education Union (EHL) reported that 330 schools and 9 471 teachers are taking part in the strike across the country. Considering those who will take part in solidarity strikes from Wednesday, the total number of strikers could exceed 18 000, reports ERR.
EHL President Reemo Voltri pointed out that the ruling Reform Party coalition seems unconcerned about the current situation and expressed the hope that a solution would be found to avoid a prolonged strike.
Many schools have informed parents that the strike will initially last for five days,
but Voltri told Vikerraadio in an interview on Monday morning that in the current situation the strike could last for several weeks.
According to Voltri, the situation is not surprising either for the Minister of Education, Kristina Kallas of Eesti 200, or for the coalition partners, the Social Democrats, who have been looking for a solution to the problem, but the largest coalition party, the Reform Party, seems unwilling to acknowledge the seriousness of the issue.
Voltri stressed that the main reason for the strike is the low number of teachers in Estonia,
which threatens the quality of education in the near future. He warned that if the quality of education were to decline, “economic growth and future tax revenues will not reach the state budget except through tax increases”.
EHL also wanted the minimum gross monthly salary for teachers to be increased to 1 950 euros, which would have resulted in an additional cost of 46 million euros for the state budget. The union then offered a compromise of 1 835 euros, which in turn would have cost the state budget an additional ten million euros.
The compromise also included a condition to immediately start contract negotiations for the next three years in order to agree on raising the average teachers’ salary to 120% of the national average salary by 2027.
Three quarters of teachers are currently on strike, according to Remo Voltri. Despite the widespread strike, Voltri was optimistic that an agreement would be reached and the strike would not be prolonged, allowing students to resume their studies, writes ERR.
Also read: Hired nannies’ and assistant teachers’ jobs may be at risk due to insufficient state language skills
Follow us on Facebook and X!