Education Minister Peter Plavčan (source: SITA)
Teachers and professional staff in the education sector will see a wage increase next year. The Education Ministry has allocated €30 million for this hike from its budget.
“There is enough money to provide 6-percent hikes in the salaries of teachers and professional staff at the regional level for the period between September 1 and December 31 of next year,” said Education Minister Peter Plavčan as cited by the TASR newswire.
However, the trade union has demanded an increase in teachers’ salaries as of January 1.
The date in September still is not the definite one for salary hikes, according to the minister.
“We’re currently negotiating with school unions, and we’re waiting for the results of collective bargaining,” said Plavčan, adding that the €30 million package is sufficient for a four-month increase of 6 percent, but it is possible to redistribute this amount of money in a different way throughout the year.
The education minister proposed several changes regarding next year’s budget at the session of the parliamentary committee for education on November 10. For example, the ministry has decided to transfer €10 million to the Slovak Research and Development Agency in order to ensure that there is sufficient funding for ongoing research projects.
Another €10 million will be transferred to the university sector. Some of the money will be used for 6-percent hikes in the salaries of university lecturers as of September 1. As much as €2.5 million of the €10-million sum should be allocated to the Educational Support Fund.
“The fund is underfunded at the moment and needs money for providing student loans,” said Plavčan.
Next year the Education Ministry’s budget is set to rise by €207 million (16.9 percent) amounting to €1.43 billion.
