Education Minister gives teachers faint hope of pay raises in September

Yesterday's statement by Education and Sports Minister Krystyna Lybacka that there was still a chance for a pay increase for teachers as of September 2002 slightly reduced the tension in government relations with the Polish Teachers' Association (ZNP). The Association had recently stated that the government cheated them and threatened to protest. Yesterday's meeting of Lybacka with the ZNP was heated. "We are shocked by the scale of cutbacks ... A difficult and dramatic question has to be asked: What is the real education program of this government, and what do these proposals have to do with the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD)'s election promises, which made education a priority?" asked ZNP president Slawomir Broniarz. "We are still on the same side," replied Lybacka, reminding listeners of Finance Minister Marek Belka's promise that if any extra money was found in the 2002 budget, it would be earmarked for education. "The battle for money has not finished," added Lybacka. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A30) P.J.