VILNIUS - A two-hour walkout by 14 teachers and kindergarten workers from eight schools in the northern Lithuanian town of Telsiai on Nov. 6 marked the first in a series of "warning strikes" that are expected to affect nine cities throughout the nation.
Hundreds of teachers demanding higher salaries plan to walk out of their classrooms as part of the action, which will last until Nov. 16. Workers in at least 22 schools in the regions of Telsiai, Zarasai, Klaipeda, Mazeikiai, Palanga, Plunge, Kretinga, Kelme and Akmene are participating.
Eugenijus Jesinas, deputy president of the Lithuanian Education Workers' Union, told The Baltic Times that education workers are demanding an immediate 20 percent pay raise, plus another 30 percent raise on Jan. 1. Additional demands include reducing workloads and setting up legal protection for educators who have to confront aggressive students.
In October, LEWTU reported that at least 12,000 teachers, or two-thirds of all school employees, voted in favor of going on strike. The decision to hold local teachers' strikes was meant to force the government to live up to promises it made to raise salaries back in 2005.
The union also wants to be sure that provisions for promised higher salaries are included in the 2008 state budget.
LEWTU President Alexas Bruzas told BNS the union received confirmation from the Education and Science Ministry that salaries will be raised by 20 percent next year.
In a Nov. 6 interview with Lithuania's national radio, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas said the government plans to raise teachers' wages by 15 percent starting in January 2008.
Meanwhile, the lack of competitive salaries compared with other countries is affecting the education workforce.
"Since the wages are so small, the teachers have no desire to teach and so many students find a better education by going abroad," Jesinas said.
Jesinas told The Baltic Times there is a need for more than 1,500 teachers in the country, and the difference between a government-paid salary and a teacher's pay is close to 500 litas (145 euros) a month.
"Teachers' jobs have big priority in our country, but the wages are small. Wages depend on experience and qualification, and so the salary can be [low] and it is very hard work working with students because they are unruly," Jesinas said.
In the second quarter of 2007, the average monthly net salary for teachers in Lithuania was 1,345 litas, as compared to the overall average monthly net salary of 1,367 litas, according to Lithuanian Statistics.
English teacher Lilja Tolpegina of the Ryto elementary school in Plunges told The Baltic Times her salary is close to the national average, but it's still not enough especially in the winter months. She said the high cost of heating and food is the main reason she isn't satisfied with her income.
"Food and heating prices are increasing. I pay 600 litas a month for heating," she said.
Tolpegina said preparations for a strike in Plunge next week are still under discussion by the local teachers' labor union.
"It isn't easy to go on strike," she said. "If there is a strike, I'll still do work and watch over the students who can't go home because their parents work all day."
