A conversation with Inga Vanaga, Chairperson of the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees (LIZDA).
Will there be a strike of education workers? When will it be? Is there still a possibility of a compromise with the government and the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES)?
We are always open to compromise. We have informed politicians and civil servants of our demands. But it has been quite a long time, and we have not seen any willingness to compromise on their part - nothing at all is being offered. This is also confirmed by the draft information report on workload and pay issues. We had a meeting on July 21 and we saw that the draft MoES document does not provide a timeframe in which all teachers will have their workload rebalanced, but only some - some in five years, some in three years, but not all. The draft document also suggests that salaries will not be competitive, as the calculations are based on the last step of the current timetable. So the minimum pay (before tax) for teachers is €900. In 2023, it will rise to €976 and so on. The same is true for pre-school teachers. We are not being heard.
So we are not calling off the strike. The LIZDA Council will meet in mid-August and we will decide on organizational matters - when to start, for how long, in what form. By that time we will have identified our views on how best to strike - perhaps at individual levels of education, perhaps all together at once. Unfortunately, at the moment, there is no way we can avoid a strike.
Are there still very big differences between Riga and the regions in teachers' and kindergarten teachers' pay? Is it not the case that in a remote region of Latvia, €800 seems like a dream for a kindergarten teacher, but in Riga, a kindergarten teacher does not want to do the same amount of work without receiving €2000?
Yes, there are differences. And even within the same region and within the same municipality. Because the number of pupils influences the salary. Because until now, "the money followed the pupil". But now, from September 1, it will be a slightly different principle - the number of pupils in the municipality. One would hope that there would be more equality, but we will see how the municipalities decide.
Teachers or kindergarten teachers do not get €2000 in hand. There are maybe places where the school administration gets it, but not the teachers. The higher the salary, the higher the workload and the higher the number of pupils in the class.
For some teachers, salaries are halfway decent, but is salary the only factor that triggers protest?
The union (LIZDA) is often accused of being only about money and money. We do not deny that pay is important. But salary is not the only thing a teacher needs.
LIZDA has carried out a survey of several thousand respondents. It turns out that four things are necessary for a teacher and for the prestige of his work: pay, a balanced workload, public attitude, opinion, which includes the rights of the teacher, and professional support (methodological tools, professional development courses). There was only a difference of a few percent between these four questions.
The current mood of protest is also influenced by the attitude of the public administration. The law stipulates that there must be a timetable for the next period on teachers' salaries and workloads. The provisions of the law have not been repealed, but the law is not being enforced. The government and parliamentary representatives still dare to say that they have done everything. This is misleading the public. It is difficult for us to get our message across to the public, because most of the public has heard only that teachers will have a salary supplement from September. So why are you protesting now?
But this strike is about the whole package - we will demand that the law is respected, that this government implements the education development guidelines that it has adopted. Teachers are fighting for their own professional interests, for the improvement of the political culture, and for the interests of future generations. Because otherwise, the students who are studying or starting their education will end up with an education of increasingly lower quality.
In June, the Minister of Education and Science, Anita Muižniece, at a meeting of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council, made a proposal to increase the lowest monthly salary rate for teachers by 8.4% each year. But at the same time, it became known that annual inflation in May was 16.9%. So the increase in teachers' salaries is far behind the increase in the cost of living already at the starting line...
Yes, unfortunately, this is the situation. Our union agreed to this amount in 2022 and we have to keep our word and stick to what the government has agreed. At the moment, it is the case that wages do not compensate for price rises. It is no coincidence that in the European Union countries, purchasing power parities are analyzed, and in Latvia they are very low. We pointed out to the government representatives that prices have risen sharply. At first it was the impact of Covid, but now it is the impact of the war in Ukraine. Politicians could have put more money on the table if they wanted to. But these are political priorities - there will be sectors where the funding will be significantly higher, while education will not be so much.
We will keep our members and non-members informed about the distribution of funding. And people will be able to draw their own conclusions when they go to the ballot box. Nobody stopped them from giving more!
We will certainly not accept what the government is proposing in 2023 - to add only €76 to the gross salary of €900.
For school teachers, this is the lowest monthly salary. Pre-school teachers have different salaries and different hours. We point out to the Ministry that the salary supplement will be too low and disproportionate to today's prices.
We see the consequences of politicians failing to address the problems that the union has been pointing out for many years - teacher burnout, a decline in the quality of education, a shortage of teachers in science and other subjects, etc.
Parliament and the ministry have had ample time to address salaries, workloads and attitudes. Teachers are very patient, but if the decision is taken to go on strike, then the camel’s back is really broken, all patience is exhausted - most of all for pre-school teachers, who are ready for extreme protests. Failure to solve the problems urgently, with large investments, could lead to the collapse of the system - if there is no one left to teach. Of course, we can teach remotely, but nothing can replace face-to-face teaching - as it should be.
We will also have to fight for a change in the attitude of Minister Anita Muižniece, but we can see that she is stepping on the same rake as her predecessors. It has often been attitudes that have put the finishing touches and spurred teachers into active protest.
Are the priorities of the MoES for 2023 known? For example, it has been reported that the MoES has submitted a request to include in the 2023 budget priorities the creation of a research platform focusing on 20th and 21st century Latvian history research, communication and the regeneration of research human capital. The concept of the research program has been developed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This will require €600,000 per year. But what else is known about the priorities?
The only information we have on the priority measures is what has been reported in the media. At the National Tripartite Cooperation Council, none of the social partners was provided with the information on what was requested by which ministry. Applications were due by June 30, but I am convinced that the MoES has not requested enough to ensure a balanced workload and sufficient salaries for teachers. The working group that was set up to address these issues and to draw up proposals is still continuing its work. At the last meeting of the working group, different scenarios and options were still being discussed. An information report on workload and salary issues is not expected to be presented to the government until August.
Does the Ministry think we are fools? The social partners know very well how the budget process works. The money had to be requested by June 30.
Ministry representatives and the spokesman for the Minister's office, Jānis Ozols, said at the time that everything would be clear in early May. Then it was promised that it would be mid-June. It is now the second half of July, but there is still no clarity!
This confirms that the MoES is treating these issues lightly.
There were very good ideas for different principles for calculating money, which satisfied the social partners, but this Minister did not do it - she threw them into the paper basket and started something new. But the MoES has no capacity, no capacity to do the calculations.
Moreover, as it turns out, there are very big problems with statistics in the field of education.
We have had a separate meeting with the Central Bureau of Statistics, where it was confirmed that there are major problems with teacher records. Maybe that’s why the MoES cannot calculate what they need to calculate.
And the calculation methodology is incorrect, which has even been confirmed by the OECD.
LIZDA will not back down! We will demand that the data in the calculations are correct and that this government sticks to what it has decided.