Estonia: Planned minimum pay of culture workers to rise to EUR 1,250 from 20191

  • 2018-04-19
  • LETA/TBT Staff

TALLINN - The Estonian government at the discussions of the budget strategy for the next few years decided that the minimum pay of culture workers paid from the budget of the Ministry of Culture may rise to 1,250 euros from 2019.

The salary growth will progress at the same tempo with the increase in the wages of teachers, spokespeople for the Ministry of Culture told BNS on Wednesday.

According to what was agreed in the government, the planned minimum salary of culture workers paid from the budget of the Ministry of Culture may rise to 1,250 euros. The minimum rate of the gross wage of a culture worker with higher education or working in a position that requires higher education for the first time exceeded the 1,000 euro margin to the currently in effect 1,150 euros from the beginning of this year.

The wage policy of culture workers is guided by the source document "Fundamental principles of culture policy until 2020". According to the document, the income of culture workers with a higher education in the case of full-time work should by 2020 reach the rate of average wage in Estonia. The minimum pay of culture workers in 2015 was still 731 euros. If the minimum pay is 1,250 euros from next year, the salary increase of four years will be 519 euros or 71 percent.

In addition to raising the minimum pay, the plan is also to try to ensure a necessary salary growth for those culture workers, whose salary already previously exceeded the minimum rate. The salary fund in 2018 increased 7.5 percent and an increase of 5 percent is planned for 2019.

The agreements made in the state's budget strategy will be confirmed by the government. The budget strategy ties together the government's larger objectives, the plans and activities of ministries and the funding of them for the next four years. The budget strategy is drawn up every spring. In fall, the government and parliament will handle the state budget for the next year and this is when the concrete expenses and incomes of the next year, including the exact salary funds of various fields, will also be revealed.