Education Ministry experts continue to work despite receiving no payment

Four thousand experts recruited by the Ministry of Education last winter to advise on a new system for promoting teachers are continuing to work, despite having received no remuneration for their services. The experts were contracted at zl.150 per session, of which they were to receive zl.30 as direct payment, while the rest went on such expenses as providing them with coffee. Commenting on the Ministry's failure to pay them, one of the experts is quoted as saying, "It's not about looting the Ministry. It's about the principle." Deputy Education Minister Lech Sprawka explains that the budget has now been increased in order to pay the experts. He insists that the situation will not be allowed to arise again, and that experts will be paid for their summer work as soon as it is finished, certainly not later than September. Explaining why they are continuing to work, despite not being paid, the experts say the position enhances their professional standing. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4) M.M.