The basic salary of some teachers in Poland is now lower than the minimum wage, the country’s main teachers union has pointed out, calling the situation “absolutely unfathomable” and “unacceptable”.
The education ministry, however, says that teachers’ salaries will soon rise by 8%, with pay backdated to cover the period in which they fell below the minimum.
Teachers in Poland are among the lowest paid in the EU, even when adjusted for the cost of living, new data show.
Both starting salaries and those at the top of the pay scale are in the EU's bottom four.
For more, see our report: https://t.co/ADlPQ1DFPi pic.twitter.com/1bsVdOqP6R
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 12, 2022
The government has this year introduced Poland’s largest-ever annual rise in the minimum wage. It rose from 3,010 zloty (€642) per month before tax last year to 3,490 zloty (€744) in January this year, with a further increase to 3,600 (€767) zloty due to take place in July.
Last week, Sławomir Broniarz, head of the Polish Teachers’ Union (ZNP), noted that this means that the lowest three pay grades of teachers – who receive between 3,329 zloty and 3,425 per month – now earn less than the minimum wage.
“It’s an illustration of how the government, the education ministry, treats teachers,” said Borniarz this week. His union has been in a long-running dispute with the government over its demands for improved pay and conditions for teachers.
— Sławomir Broniarz (@Broniarz) January 5, 2023
The education ministry, however, explained to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that planned raises for teachers are on hold while the state budget, which was approved by the lower house of parliament – where the government has a majority – in December, awaits a vote in the opposition-controlled Senate.
“As a result of a change to the basic [salary] amount, the average teacher’s pay will increase by 7.8% in relation to wages that came to force in September 2022,” spokeswoman Adrianna Całus-Polak told PAP.
Całus-Polak assured teachers that the pay rises will apply retrospectively, being backdated to 1 January 2023. She added that, in the meantime, supplementary pay is being issued in cases where salaries are below the minimum wage.
The spokeswoman also said that the ministry wants to increase teachers’ wages further in order to “strengthen the prestige and attractiveness of the profession”. But this requires “continued dialogue with social partners”, she added.
PODWYŻKI WYNAGRODZEŃ NAUCZYCIELI
Wzrost wynagrodzenia średniego dla nauczycieli wyniesie r/r:
✅ +1240 zł +35% początkujący,
✅ +639 zł +12,5% mianowany,
✅ +817 zł +12,5% dyplomowany.Podwyżki będą wypłacane z wyrównaniem od 1.1.2023 r. po wejściu w życie ust. budżetowej. pic.twitter.com/0BHY44AJwS
— Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki (@MEIN_GOV_PL) January 12, 2023
A report by the European Commission last year showed that Poland’s teachers are among the lowest paid in the EU, even when taking into account the cost of living. Both starting salaries and those at the top of the pay scale are in the EU’s bottom four.
In 2020, a newspaper documented that many supermarket cashiers earn more than some teachers. In addition to pushing for higher pay, teachers in Poland last year protested over the fact that they also often have to provide classroom equipment at their own expense.
Last month, education minister Przemysław Czarnek said that, given Poland’s changing demographics, he expected around 100,000 teachers to become redundant in the next two or three years. Unions, however, argue that this should instead be used as an opporunity to improve teaching.
Main image credit: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
