SBASK does not back down, requires salary increases for educators

Unlike the statements by Deputy Education Minister Dukagjin Pupovci the day before, he said the law did not mean automatic wage increases in the SBASK say they do not withdraw from their request.

SBASK Vice President Vjollca Shala has declared that their expectations are that teachers are among the highest paid employees of the state administration.

We expect in this law of wages that is being worked, there will, of course, be salary hikes because now we cannot approach the previous law, as the Constitutional has annulled that law. And the new wage bill will require that education workers from day to university, to be positioned with cofficiency somewhere from the middle of all possible cofficiency that will be in this wage bill, and of course our demand is that with the new wage law there be a salary hike for all education workers, from the clinics to the\x> university, she said.

Commenting on statements by Deputy Education Minister Dukagjin Pupovci, SBASK's deputy chairman, has said that if there is no salary increase for educators then it will be decided what union actions will be taken from them without excluding general strikes.

If the new salary law, which is working, and the teachers have no change in wages, remain wages that have been, then we are obliged to listen to the voice of our membership, which we have done to distribute forms so that education workers are declared as far as the wage law is concerned, and then should be driven even with syndical action and the harshest ones is the general 911 strike, she added.

Trade unions have given the Government of Kosovo until March for the draft wage bill, but the SBASK has set the date when they will take action if the same does not foresee meeting their demands.

On April 2nd, since it is the SBASK Congress, where delegates attending Congress are representatives of all Kosovo municipalities, they will decide on further union actions, and in the worst case of general strike”, she added.

In addition to the pay law, the SBASK has directed a request to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Public Administration, even health insurance for workers in education and the law on pension schemes that envisions recognition of the work stage in the years of '{0}'90. /Kp