Education workers to hold nationwide warning strike in Estonia

Education workers across Estonia will hold a one-hour warning strike on September 22, the Tallinn Education Workers’ Union said, according to ERR.

The strike will take place from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. at early education institutions and from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at general education and vocational schools. Participants will suspend their work duties for one hour.

The union is demanding that the minimum salary for teachers at general education and vocational schools rise to at least 2,312 euros in 2027, which it described as the projected average wage in Estonia. It said kindergarten teachers should earn at least 90 percent of that amount, or 2,081 euros.

Education workers said governing parties had repeatedly promised for years to raise teachers’ pay to a competitive level by 2027.

They said the minimum teacher salary had fallen six percentage points behind the national average wage in recent years, and that the latest pay negotiations had not provided assurance that teachers’ salaries would rise at all next year.

The union said next year’s state budget was currently being prepared and that the next round of negotiations on the minimum teacher salary would take place on September 23. It said the warning strike was intended to make teachers’ demands visible before those discussions.