Teachers union says ministry should set salaries, not local governments

The National Teachers Union (ZNP) has submitted to the Sejm a draft of amendments to the Teachers' Charter, calling for the elimination of local governments' influence on teachers' salaries. Under the current system, the Education Ministry sets the basic salaries, but local governments determine the size of bonuses. This means that teachers working for less affluent municipalities get less money than those in wealthier areas. ZNP claims that this is unacceptable, as sometimes even neighboring schools can pay significantly different salaries. The trade union has collected 563,000 signatures supporting its draft of amendments, according to which the Education Ministry would set both the basic salary, as well as bonuses. However, local governments would have the right to pay higher bonuses than those determined by the ministry, but not lower. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.4) T.J.