Some of the teachers gathered in V.Kudirka Square in the capital since 11 o’clock, those who arrived rang bells, chanted “strike next lesson”, held signs “Education has reached the bottom. When will we climb to the top?”, “A real teacher cannot remain silent”, “We care about the future of Lithuania, and you?”, “A teacher without prestige is a state without prestige.”
After the strike of teachers united by the Lithuanian Education Workers Trade Union (LŠDPS) started on Friday, these protest actions are promised to be held for about a month – as long as the strike itself is planned. According to LŠDP chairman Andriaus Navickos, about 3 thousand people are starting the strike. pedagogues in approximately 185 educational institutions, it is not excluded that their number will grow.
Speaking to the gathered teachers, the president of the Lithuanian School Students’ Union, Jonas Trumpa, said that this organization supports the teachers’ strike for the first time.
After his words, the teachers started chanting “thank you”.
“We support it for two very simple reasons. There are two of your demands, that is to increase the salary of teachers and to reduce the number of students in classes,” said J.Trumpa.
According to him, it is important for every student that the teacher “be energetic, innovative, speak persuasively”, as well as that pedagogues are prepared for each lesson, open emotionally.
“I want to thank everyone for the fact that you are not moaning, but acting and I hope that this day, this strike in general, will show your students that it is possible to defend your democratic rights”, said Erika Leiputė-Stundžienė, the deputy chairperson of LŠDPS, to the teachers.
Onutė Orlauskienė, the chairwoman of the trade union of the Vilnius daycare-kindergarten “Aušrelė”, who came to the protest, told BNS that she and a dozen other pedagogues of the institution are demanding from the Government and the Minister of Education that teachers’ salaries be increased by at least 20 percent from January next year, and by 30 percent in September.
“We see that other trade unions are satisfied with one grain, but not ours. There is no way we can survive on that one grain,” the teacher told BNS.
Robertas Ramanauskas, a history teacher at Vilnius Užupis Gymnasium, said that he is participating in the rally because he wants to show that teachers experience a lot of injustice.
“(…) starting with inadequate wages, when in fact such a situation is created that the reward is constantly increasing physically, as if little by little, but the reward is increasing for more and more hard work,” the educator told BNS.
“I’m tired of not being a professional teacher, but just a service provider when the customer is always right,” he added.
Teachers will protest in schools, they are organizing marches to Vilnius from various Lithuanian cities. A. Navickas is not participating in the rally, he started the march to the capital from Zarasai together with other teachers on Friday.
LŠDPS announced the strike after not reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports regarding the working conditions of pedagogues.
The government proposes to raise salaries for teachers next year in two stages: from January – 10%, and from September – so much so that the average teacher’s salary reaches 130%. average national wage.
The trade union led by A.Navickas is not satisfied with such proposals of the ministry. This trade union demanded to increase teachers’ salaries by 20 percent from this September, and another 30 percent from January next year.
At that time, the Minister of Education, Science and Sports Gintautas Jakštas and four other trade unions, including the Lithuanian Education and Science Trade Union led by Egidijus Milešinas, agreed on Thursday to prepare a plan by May of next year, how the wages of teachers will be increased after 2024.
Having previously also not ruled out the possibility of striking, this trade union says it will make a final decision on Monday.
During the negotiations, trade unions and the Ministry of Education also agreed to reduce classes in schools from next September. Municipalities could reduce the maximum class size from 30 to 26 students in basic education, from 24 to 22 students in primary education.
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