Teacher trade union PDSZ rejects Gulyas remarks on teachers’ wage increase

PDSZ said in a statement that the current 32.2 percent wage increase and the fact that it had been offered to teachers of vocational schools, too, had been the result of strike talks, strike days, and the series of protests held around the country. PDSZ and the PSZ trade union pursued strike talks for more than two years, it added.

The teachers’ wage increase was the outcome of joint action taken by students, teachers and parents standing up for their rights, and the European Union also played a key role by forcing the government to fulfil its promises under the arrangements of the Human Resources Development Operational Programme EFOP PLUS, PDSZ said.

“Had the trade unions not raised their voice in connection with the shortage of teachers and insufficient teacher wages, the government would not have had the political will to mend the holes in the educational system,” PDSZ added.

The teacher wage increase was only the first step towards a significant improvement in the quality of education, as it was the most basic way to stop the brain drain and make the teaching profession attractive, it added.