Education and Science, Estonia, Labour Unions, Wages

The union on Monday sent a letter to Prime Minister Juri Ratas, Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps and the managing director of the Association of Estonian Cities and Rural Municipalities, Veikko Luhalaid, with a proposal to start negotiations on the minimum pay rates for teachers in 2021. 

"Considering the actual situation, where the workload of teachers has increased significantly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is high time to bring the remuneration of teachers into accordance with the requirements and expectations applied to the teaching profession," chairman of the trade union Reemo Voltri said in the letter.

Based on the above, the union is proposing to raise the minimum pay rate for teachers to the level of the expected national average wage in 2021, meaning at least 1,428 euros, and to bring the average pay of teachers into accordance with the national average pay of employees with higher education, which based on the summer economic forecast will be 1,674 euros a month in 2021.