Although it is usually not acceptable for an external player to interfere in the internal affairs of a state, those in Brussels see things differently.Continue reading
Until Hungary receives the EU funds it is entitled to, the government can advance a 10 percent pay increase for teachers from the national budget in the current sanctions crisis. The further planned pay raise is therefore now dependent on Brussels and the arrival of EU funds due to Hungary, the Interior Ministry said in a statement sent to MTI on Friday.
The ministry said the government has repeatedly stated that as soon as Hungary receives the funds, it will have the biggest pay raise for teachers since the fall of communism. This is why it is important that agreements on EU funds for Hungary can be reached soon, they added.
Interior Minister Sándor Pintér held a consultation with school principals and teachers on Friday, during which he promised to raise the salaries of teachers. However, this is not the kind of raise that teachers have dreamed about, as it becomes clear from the new decree, the government will not increase the salary itself, only the supplementary allowance, which will be 32 percent instead of the previous 20 percent.
The government’s plan is for average teacher pay to reach 80 percent of average graduate pay by 2025. If the EU funds are received, the increase could be 21 percent in 2023, instead of the current 10 percent, 25 percent in 2024, and 29-30 percent in 2025.
The current 10 percent pay raise will affect 143,146 teachers in schools and kindergartens, and the government will provide 67.6 billion forints for the increase.
Teachers have been protesting for months in Hungary, where, although the initial focus was on the pay raise, teachers, unions, and students are now voicing various anti-government demands. Students are increasingly turning up at the demonstrations, and recently organized a demonstration at public media headquarters.
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