On Friday, a teachers’ strike will start in some of the educational institutions in Lithuania. According to the Lithuanian Trade Union of Educational Workers (LŠDPS), the organiser of the strike, some teachers will walk from their schools to Vilnius where they will hold pickets.
It is planned that the strike would last about a month, according to Andrius Navickas, head of the LŠDPS. When it starts, some of the striking teachers and schoolchildren, who support them, will walk to Vilnius. The teachers and students will walk from Alytus, Anykščiai, Elektrėnai, Kaišiadorys, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šilutė, Tauragė, and other cities, Navickas said.
On Friday, a picket will be organised in front of the government building in Vilnius.
“There will be a civic education lesson in front of the government. We will set up a blackboard there and invite politicians, economists, and political scientists to answer questions,” said Navickas.
The trade union hopes that Minister of Education, Science and Sport Gintautas Jakštas, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, and President Gitanas Nausėda will attend this “class”.
According to Navickas, some of the teachers will stay overnight outside the government building, where tents will be set up.
The LŠDPS does not yet give final figures on how many teachers and schools are expected to go on strike. However, it is likely that around a couple of hundred schools and several thousand teachers will join it.
“To reach an agreement you need to negotiate, and right now, we haven't even received invitations from the government or the ministry to negotiate,” Navickas said when asked if the strike could be called off.
Vilnius City Council has granted permission to the LŠDPS to hold rallies in front of the government building on Vincas Kudirka Square every day from September 29 to October 28.
The trade union has demanded that teachers’ salaries be increased by 20 percent as of this September and by another 30 percent as of January next year and that the number of students in classrooms and the teachers’ workload be reduced.
The government says it is not able to raise teachers’ pay this year and has planned to do so in two phases next year. The proposal is for a 21 percent pay rise next year.
Further reading
The trade union said they were not satisfied with the proposal made by the education minister.
On September 15, the LŠDPS organised a warning strike.
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