TRADE unions representing teachers and other school employees seeking better salaries will not take part in a strike. The reason for their decision is that the current interim government does not have the mandate to fulfil their requirements, the TASR newswire reported.
“The strike would be pointless,” said the head of the trade unions, Jozef Lužák, after a meeting with colleagues, adding that even though he knows that the majority of teachers are not satisfied with their salaries, they have to realise that the current government does not have the power to resolve the issue.
Though the trade unions did not reach agreement with the government on higher salaries for teachers, it is possible that the state will increase the wages of non-teaching employees, such as school caretakers or cleaners, the SITA newswire reported on November 2.
“The government together with Education Minister Eugen Jurzyca will try to find solutions to this problem by the end of the [current government’s term],” Lužák said after meeting Prime Minister Iveta Radičová on November 2. The salaries of non-teaching employees are very close to the minimum wage and the government said it would try to address this, SITA wrote.
