Teachers and firefighters seek indexed pay instead of annual talks
Sunday 4th October 2026 on 20:30 in
Estonia
Teachers and firefighters want long-term salary agreements rather than having their pay negotiated each year, ERR reports. A budget proposal sent to parliament provides for a three per cent pay rise for both groups, but their unions say it falls short.
Public-sector salaries are negotiated annually for most of the 138,000 people paid by the state. A small share of public-sector workers have indexed salaries, including members of parliament, ministers and judges.
Antti Lääts, a firefighter at Pärnu fire station, said pay was a serious concern, particularly for younger firefighters, and that many had to take additional jobs to make ends meet.
Firefighters’ union head Kalle Koop said the union wants firefighters to earn 1.2 times the national average salary. The promised three per cent rise would add €48, bringing a firefighter’s pay to €1,654, he said.
Teachers’ union head Reemo Voltri said a longstanding national goal was for teachers’ starting pay to match the average salary. Following negotiations that led to strikes, the minimum teacher salary is due to rise by three per cent next year. However, teacher pay has fallen by eight per cent relative to the national average over the past four years, he said.
Voltri said annual negotiations gave teachers little certainty about their future pay and could also discourage people from entering the profession. The state allocates education support to municipalities, which run schools, and the funding must be approved each year. Although next year’s budget includes a three per cent rise, the state budget strategy sets out no increases for the following three years, he said.
Both unions are calling for a longer-term pay system. Koop said the union wanted a plan to reach the target of 1.2 times the national average and proposed funding internal security through a fixed share of gross domestic product, as with military defence. Voltri said setting the minimum teacher salary at the national average and indexing it thereafter would end the need for constant negotiations.
The Finance Ministry said that guaranteed pay rises cover only a very small part of the public sector, and politicians must decide each year on salaries for the rest.