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KTK: 'LEFT HINDERING PAY HIKE FOR TEACHERS'

 

The government is committed to further increasing salaries for teachers, while “it is the leftist parties that are hindering” its efforts, the government’s information centre (KTK) said in a statement on Friday. Reacting to strike actions and demonstrations staged by teachers nationwide on Friday, the KTK underlined the government’s commitment to enacting “unprecedented pay hikes” as soon as the government agrees with the European Union on unlocking funding. According to the statement, the government aims to raise teachers’ average salaries to 80% of the average of professionals in Hungary by 2025. The KTK added that teachers’ salaries could increase by 21% next year, 25% in 2024, and they could be 29-30% higher than their current wages in 2025.
Representatives of the leftist parties, however, “keep on working in Brussels to prevent Hungary from receiving the funds it is entitled to,” the statement said, adding that “a higher increase than earlier planned” could be financed from those monies. Concerning the strikes, the KTK said that “legally organised strikes are a form of legitimate expression with no consequences”, adding that teachers “participating in a legal strike action” would face no penalties. Despite what leftist parties claim, the statement said, “there are no mass dismissals whatever” and “so far only 5 teachers who have repeatedly participated in illegal strikes have been dismissed.”