The Lithuanian Education Workers’ Union (LŠDPS), led by Andrius Navickas, is resuming a strike on Tuesday when the parliament is voting on next year’s state budget.
“The vote of the members of the Seimas [parliament] could be decisive in the hope of change, additional funds are needed to meet all our most important demands, even if it is a long-term prospect. Otherwise, passing the budget without taking into account the current situation would only deepen the crisis in the education system,” said Navickas, the union’s leader.
On Tuesday, the Seimas is scheduled to have the second vote on the bill setting out public spending by the central government and municipalities. Teachers on strike will not work or teach classes.
The LŠDPS’s demands include more substantial pay raises for teachers. The union has agreed to accept two 15-percent raises from January and September, while the government proposes two 10-percent raises.
The union points out that this will only compensate for inflation and will not achieve earlier commitments to have teachers’ salaries reach 130 percent of the national average. This target is identified as a key long-term commitment of the government and political parties. The cabinet insists that the second salary increase from September will take into account changes in the average wage.
According to the National Agency for Education, around 2,000 teachers were on strike at the end of November.
The LŠDPS and the Ministry of Education disagree on key demands: teachers’ pay, workload structure and class size reduction.
The government insists that there are no financial resources to meet the union’s demands.
Further reading
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
