Estonian teachers to strike on March 7

  • 2012-02-14

TALLINN - Estonian teachers and day-care workers will strike for three days starting March 7 after talks with the government over wages broke down, Bloomberg reports.

The strike will start on March 7, with the duration to be set later, Sven Rondik, head of Estonia’s Education Personnel Union, said today in a statement.

The union wants a 20 percent increase in teachers’ wages in 2012 and 15 percent in both 2013 and 2014, according to its website. This year's move would bring gross monthly salaries up to 730 euros from 608 euros for junior teachers and to 1,067 euros from 889 euros for the most senior teachers. Average monthly wages in Estonia were 809 euros in the third quarter, as Bloomberg notes.

As reported, the State Conciliator signed on Monday the decision to declare the negations between education workers, local municipalities and education and science ministry to raise minimum wage rates of teachers, a failure and thus teachers will hold a strike in March.

This breaks off the work peace between education workers and employers, which will not be restored before an agreement is reached in the wage increase issue and a new collective labor agreement is concluded.

Other professionals would join the strike. Railway workers, energy workers and miners, seamen and transport workers showed willingness to actively participate in protest actions.