Teachers and rescuers demand pay rises outside Estonia’s parliament

Teachers and rescuers gathered outside Estonia’s parliament building in Toompea on Monday to demand that the government provide a fair pay rise for public-sector workers in the 2027 state budget, ERR reported.

Reemo Voltri, chairman of the Estonian Educational Personnel Union, said governing parties had promised to raise teachers’ pay to a competitive level by 2027 at the latest. However, the minimum teacher salary has fallen by six percentage points relative to the national average wage in recent years, he said.

According to a recent union survey cited by Voltri, two-thirds of teachers have considered leaving the profession during the past year.

“This should be a very serious warning sign for the government. A strong state needs not only good defence capabilities, but also strong education and teachers who guide our young people as they become an educated and critically thinking generation,” Voltri said.

Kalle Koop, chief representative of the Estonian Rescue Workers’ Trade Union and a co-organiser of the protest, highlighted the importance of internal security.

“If we do not value the work of rescuers, police officers and rescue coordinators with competitive pay today, tomorrow it will already be too late to discover that the front line is understaffed when a crisis breaks out,” Koop said.