New government to raise teachers’ salaries

Senior members of the three parties forming the next government have said they will raise salaries for teachers, providing an additional 2.1 billion crowns next year and an extra 4 billion in 2012. But that will be followed by a three-year freeze to the Teachers’ Fund. The plan meets a commitment by the centre-right parties towards education at a time when other areas in the public sector face possible layoffs and pay cuts. Radek John of Public Affairs said on Friday he was pleased that teachers would experience the opposite. The plan agreed by members of the parties left no room for a proposal by incoming education minister Josef Dobeš for the state to provide a one-off payment of 180,000 crowns to new teachers. Also the boost in teachers’ salaries that was agreed will not come from the defence budget, an idea which had been pursued by Public Affairs.