Steven N.The Teachers Union (PSZ) and Democratic Union of Teachers (PDSZ) held strike negotiations with State Secretary for Public Education Zoltán Maruzsa on Wednesday, where the unions learned that the promised salary increase for schoolteachers is being delayed because of the European Commission.
PDSZ representative Erzsébet Nagy told Népszava that the government had intended to pay for teachers’ wage raises and other educational projects with EU money, but the State Secretary complained that the European Commission was “obstructing” the process by not accepting the project drafts submitted by the government.
We don’t really know what to do with this. It doesn’t stop those leaving the field, and it doesn’t make this career choice more attractive for young people.
-said Erzsébet Nagy, adding that PDSZ had already received reports of 155 teachers who have submitted their resignations.
Strike negotiations will resume on June 28. Erzsébet Nagy learned from Zoltán Maruzsa that Interior Minister Sándor Pintér also plans to meet with representatives from PSZ and PDSZ.
The European Commission has not yet approved Hungary’s post-pandemic recovery plan because of corruption risks, which means the country is still unable to access the funds that have been set aside for this purpose. [Magyar Hang]
