Teachers in Hungary warn school year could end in strike
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán indicated at an international press conference after the elections last Wednesday that a new government would not be formed before the end of May. For teachers' unions, this means they have only two to three weeks to press their demands before the end of the school year.
Erzsébet Nagy, a representative of the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers (PDSZ), also told Index that if they fail to achieve a quick and immediate result with the new government, they will continue the strike.
Teachers do not intend to go into the summer break without an agreement, so the best thing would be to reach an deal at the end of the school year on the conditions under which education will continue from autumn. She stressed that their demands have not changed, and they are still demanding a 45% pay rise, payment for extra hours and a reduction in the workload.
In response to the newspaper's inquiry, Zsuzsa Szabó, president of the Teachers' Trade Union (PSZ), said that they expect 22,000 teachers to retire in five years, and that under the current conditions there will be no one to replace them. Although the indefinite strike, announced from 16 March, was suspended shortly before the elections, the strike committee is still working, she added.
Szabó also pointed out that the government would have to provide an overall wage increase of 50-60% to bring teachers' salaries up to 85% of the average graduate salary, which is "not an unreasonable request."
She told commercial broadcaster ATV late on Wednesday that no one wants to be a teacher anymore, and those who are in education are also trying to 'escape'. During teacher training at least 20-25% of students drop out, but it is possible to measure exactly how many stay in the profession.
Trainees have to pass a qualifying exam after two years, and according to the organisation's surveys, 2,000 trainees are qualified as teachers, while up to 6,000 retire.
THEY ESTIMATE THAT THERE WILL BE A DECLINE OF ALMOST 10% IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN THE COMING YEARS.
With a shortage of 13,000 teachers in the system, it is no longer just a problem in the countryside, but also in the elite districts of Budapest.
The 10% wage hike claimed by members of the government was in fact a supplement, otherwise teachers' salaries would not reach the guaranteed minimum wage, which is unsustainable, according to the PSZ President.
Cover photo: Getty Images
