European Trade Union Committee for Education

Today teachers and education trade unions in Serbia are demonstrating for decent salaries and comprehensive social dialogue in education in front of the buildings of the Ministry of Education, the Serbian government and the Ministry of State and Local Administration.

The unions report that the provisions of the Law on Salaries in the public sector, which are to come into effect at the beginning of 2019, rank salaries for education personnel in the eighth salary group, when the salary for other public sector employees with similar levels of qualifications is to be allocated under the ninth salary group. An ominous threat is that the eighth salary group implies no career development perspectives for education personnel in Serbia.

In the lead-up to the joint protest action, Susan Flocken, ETUCE European Director said, “The government’s decisions on differentiating education personnel into a different salary group only further exacerbate the low recognition of the teaching profession. The Serbian government should truly commit itself to promoting quality education in particular through preserving decent working conditions for those working in the sector, supporting the teaching profession to make it attractive also for young graduates and establish comprehensive consultations with education trade unions in Serbia”.