Education Unions Warn Strikes for September

The chairman of the United Trade Union of Education, Science and Culture in Kosovo, Nundman Jashari in an interview for Kosovo, said 21 June with the end of the school year, they have been sent to all Kosovo mayors from an official letter to remind them that they have signed the new collective contract for the entire education of Kosovo, and that contract obliges them with law to fulfil their obligations to employees in education.

“Communs must pay 70 per cent of the ticket value for teachers and other employees in education. Also, they have to pay three supplemental salaries and three salaries for retirement, as well as the other issue we've started to raise now, which we've been kind of quiet for a while, is the question of shush... which is worth two euros per day of work. Since from June 21st until now, municipalities have not reflected or returned any responses, nor have they invited the mayors we have at the municipal level... We have been told that the SBASK will not be silenced for these demands, but we are afraid that the month of September could be forwarded to pre-university education even by strikes and other actions, which means that we will continue with sending subjects to courts concerning the issue of”, Jashar stressed.

He has said that union and teaching will not go on strike on September 4th, at the start of the new school year, because they may be misunderstood by students' parents.

We didn't enter on September 4th, because some individuals would then say that they are not go on strike to carry out issues, but they have staged a strike to prolong our vacation, and that we would also be saddened by parents, especially those of first-class children... but also other generations but also older students”, Jashar noted.

Likewise, the SBASK leader expresses further fears that the month October may be associated with administration strikes at the University of Pristina, because according to him, they too have their demands.

According to him, three retirement salaries have not been realised, then supplementary wages and no other issues are regulated.

Jashar, among other things, has said they are also waiting for the establishment of institutions, because, as he said, they will have clashes with leaders of these institutions for the realization of promises which were made during the election campaign for education.

“The SBASK is ready and we are waiting to establish central-level bodies, we will also have confrontations with the central level, because they even at meetings we have had, even during the campaign have pledged that our demands will be carried out”, he stressed.

Kosovo, according to the August data, has about 400,000 students in primary education and middle education, as well as about 25 thousand employees, of whom 23 thousand and 366 are teachers.