Brussels, 06/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - A Eurydice report, carried out for the European Commission and published on Friday 3 October, reveals that the salaries of teachers in both the primary and secondary sectors rose in 2013-2014 by comparison with the previous school year in 16 of the 33 European countries studied (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Republic of Macedonia, Slovakia, Turkey and United Kingdom). The rises were chiefly due to salary reforms and adjustments to the cost of living. In about half of the 33 European countries featured in the report, teachers' purchasing power in 2014 is still below the 2009 level. The situation is of particular concern in Ireland, Spain, Romania (secondary education), Slovenia and Iceland, which saw falls in purchasing power of 13% to 17%. The biggest decrease was in Greece with a fall of around 40%. The basic salaries for teachers entering the profession in primary and lower secondary education are lower than GDP per capita in around three quarters of the countries surveyed. The report also shows that in a large majority of the countries, teachers' salaries increase in line with length of service. However, the level of salary increases and the speed at which they progress differs. Teachers' basic salaries can also increase due to allowances to reflect extra qualifications, performance evaluation, or for teaching children with special needs. Such incentives can contribute to making the profession more attractive, according to Eurydice, by shifting from career progression based on length of service to a more development- and performance-oriented approach. Linking the acquisition of new skills and better teaching practices to career progression is likely to serve as an incentive for the entire teaching population, and particularly new teachers. (IL)