Brussels, 05/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - In sixteen countries of Europe, teachers have seen their pay cut or frozen. The pay cuts have been as high as 20% in Ireland, Greece and Portugal, three countries in receipt of financial aid from the troika of lenders (the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) and which the European Commission says in a report published on Friday 5 October are due to the economic slowdown.
From mid-2010, the economic crisis has taken its toll on teachers' pay, with increasing numbers of countries cutting both salaries and allowances such as holiday pay and bonuses. Greece reduced teachers' basic salaries by 30% and stopped paying Christmas and Easter bonuses. Ireland cut salaries for new teachers by 13% in 2011 and those appointed after 31 January this year faced a further 20% drop in pay due to the abolition of qualification allowances. In Spain, salaries of teachers and other public sector employees were cut in 2010 by around 5% and not adjusted to inflation since; similar measures have been applied in Portugal.
The pay cuts have hit experienced teachers as well as newcomers, but some countries buck the trend, namely the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Iceland, whose teachers have seen their pay increase, and teacher's pay doubled in Turkey between 2006 and 2012 and in the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2012.
EU Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou commented: “Teachers play a vital role in the lives of children and, as everyone knows, can make all the difference to their future. Teachers' remuneration and working conditions should be a top priority in order to attract and retain the best in the profession. But attracting the best teachers is not just about pay: it is imperative that classrooms are well-equipped and that teachers have a proper say on modernising curricula and education reforms.” She was commenting on publication of the report “Teachers' and School Heads' Salaries and Allowances in EUROPE 2011/12.” (JK/transl.fl)