School Trade Unionists Don't Consider One-off Contribution to Be Salary Hike

Bratislava, June 27 (TASR) – The Slovak Education Sector Employees Trade Union (OZPSaV) does not consider a one-off contribution for state and public sector employees amounting to €500 to be a salary hike, it rather views it as a compensatory allowance, OZPSaV chairman Pavel Ondek told TASR on Monday.

School trade unions perceive the one-off contribution as a compensatory allowance to cover the increase in the cost of living caused by rising prices of all goods and services. “We don’t view it as a salary hike, as, in a final consequence, the net sum [after taxation and deduction of levies] is €348 and if we divide it for the whole year, it is €29 monthly,” noted Ondek.

Unionists still insist on a 10-percent increase in salaries for all employees of the education sector. “As the inflation is over 12 percent, we’ll definitely demand more than 10 percent as of January 1, 2023,” said the OZPSaV chief.

If salaries of all school employees are not valorised, the school trade unions are ready to go on strike in September. “We’ve prepared a scenario. The exact date of the strike will be decided by the union’s council,” said Ondek, adding they would like to launch the strike as soon as in the first days of the 2022/2023 school year. The strike should last until the problem is resolved. “We’ve addressed all schools, starting from kindergartens, through primary, secondary schools up to universities,” said Ondek.

The state proposes to pay a one-off contribution worth €500 per person to state and public sector employees this year, making up an aid package of €200 million, Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Finance Minister Igor Matovic (both OLaNO) told a press conference on Saturday (June 25). The premier pointed out that this is a draft with which the government is entering into negotiations with the Trade Union Confederation.