Latvian Minister of Education and Science Anda Čakša is confused which of the strike demands from the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Workers (LIZDA) the ministry has yet to implement.
In her interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds, she stressed she does not want teachers to burn out. This is why the ministry proposes establishing the maximum number of hours teachers can work. At the same time, it is planned to grant school principals the autonomous right to decide how workload is decided.
Čakša believes the biggest discussion concerns whether the workload is equalised for all schools or if this issue remains in the hands of school principals, considering that all schools and teachers are different from one another. “It is important for there to be lessons, preparation time and time to score tests and perform other duties. I would say that the biggest discussion concerns these other duties and whether they could be done autonomously by the school principal,” the politician explained.
The minister also said that discussions also touch on the topic of a new financing model, in which it is planned to establish the maximum number of lessons per week for individual teachers and the permissible ratio between preparations and lessons. She added that the it will not be mandatory to execute the maximum number of lessons.
When asked if LIZDA could continue protests or even go on strike,
Čakša said that she wants to understand what the dispute is even about. “If this is about higher wages and balanced workdays, I believe our offer is aimed at giving teachers bigger wages and avoiding excessive workloads. I believe the most difficult thing right now is understanding what the dispute is about,” said the minister.
LIZDA will organise a protest outside the Cabinet of Ministers on the 21st of May. The trade union demands amendments to the Cab. Min. requirements that would provide for the continuation of work to balance workload for all groups of teachers. According to LIZDA chairperson Inga Vanaga explained that this would mean fewer lessons and more time to perform other duties.
The desired workload distribution differs per groups of teachers. For example, for general education teachers the workload ratio should be “60:40”.
Though the trade union is prepared for compromises, it “categorically” disagrees with the offer from the ministry to transition to a 40-hour work week as full-time workload for teachers. Vanaga explained this position with past experience, when teachers’ income went down, but hours went up. This is why the trade union wants to stay with a 36-hour work week.
The trade union is worried that by changing the methodology, teachers will either not be paid for work during breaks, or most responsibilities will not be paid. In turn, this will contribute to an even greater shortage of teachers, said Vanaga.
The union is also worried about a possible reduction in the value of the hour. Vanaga refers to the previous semester, when the lowest salary rate was used in the calculations of balanced hours. Therefore, in a number of municipalities, the allocated earmarked grant was not enough to ensure an increase in the salary of the teacher and to introduce workload balancing.
LIZDA still disagrees with the offer from the Ministry of Education and Science regarding the future balancing of workloads. This is why the trade union has decided in favour of a protest and turning to a court of law.
LIZDA and the ministry have long had different visions of balancing the workloads of educators. According to the ministry’s management, the conflict arose due to a difference in vision of the next work to be done. The ministry is convinced that several solutions are possible, moreover, the vision of several parties, not only the ministry and LIZDA, must be taken into account.
The ministry also plans to restore guidelines on workload balancing in order to make it clear which duties should be paid.
Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, meanwhile, trusts the ministry’s work and expects the institution to present a quality offer to submit to the government.
Also read: Latvian minister “sweats bullets”. Agnese Logina interviewed by A.Kaimiņš in “Suņu būda V2.0”
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