After the warmest winter on record in 83 years, the Baltics segued into what could become the hottest spring in memory. While the sun beamed down in the first days of March (mixed with snow flurries), teachers in Lithuania walked off the job and their students protested on streets. Social discontent, throbbing from the hangover of overheated economies, has finally brimmed over, and it would appear that we're in far a long, eventful year.
As with all strikes, this one boils down to money. Lithuanian teachers want a 50 percent raise this year 's an aggressive demand 's and they want it straight away. A promise to increase salaries won't fly since the country will hold national elections this year, and the next government could easily disavow all previous pledges. Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas signed an agreement to raise educational workers' salaries by 15 percent starting in January and another 20 percent when the new school year starts in September. Over the long-term, salaries would incrementally climb from 2,138 litas (620 euros) to 4,113 litas by January 2011. This prospect satisfied one union, but three others balked.
So come March 3, teachers and workers at dozens of Lithuanian schools went on strike, depriving thousands of students of classes (fed up with the bickering, hundreds of pupils blocked traffic in several cities on March 4 in an attempt to bring public attention to their plight). It was the first such strike in the Baltics in years, and was also the first opportunity to witness what could be the public sector's unraveling.
This is a case when, much as we would like not to, we must admit we were right. Months ago The Baltic Times predicted that a wave of strikes would ripple across the region as public wage earners begin demanding salary increases if not commensurate to the rate of inflation, or to keep parity with growing food prices (which are outpacing inflation), than sufficient enough to improve their standard of living.
And they have every right to do so. Labor is part of market economics and so works according to the same laws of capitalism. So if the government wants to maintain a healthy public sector, it must offer competitive salaries. As it is, Lithuania's schools are lacking 1,500 teachers, which means those remaining must pick up the slack. They work extra hours, so they are increasingly tired. The same can be said about other budget workers: policemen, doctors, firemen, civil servants. As the purchasing power of their salaries disintegrates against rising inflation, they too will walk off their jobs. And they would be right to do so.
In the meantime, the European Union this week warned the Baltic economies about the wage-price spiral. Baltic governments cannot continue raising salaries without a commensurate increase in worker productivity, Brussels said. True, but what if there are no workers? And what are workers supposed to do if their take-home pay cannot cover the cost of food, communal services, clothing, etc.? The Baltics' soaring inflation is boosting the subsistence level to the point where more residents are sinking into poverty.
The inconsistencies in the Baltic economies have been apparent for years; the misfortune is that the governments reacted too late, or in some cases not at all, to the warning signs. The problem is more government spending and government inefficiency and less wage increases for teachers and other public sector workers who are struggling to survive. The problem is, in short, lousy leadership, which is endemic in the Baltic states.
