School Trade Union Holds Talks at Finance Ministry, Wants 10-percent Higher Pay

Bratislava, November 14 (TASR) - The leadership of the Slovak Education and Science Employees Trade Union held talks with Finance Ministry state secretary Radovan Majersky on Thursday, union head Pavel Ondek has told TASR. He said that the unionists demanded a 10-percent increase in salaries for all employees in the educational sector, however, this issue remained open for now. The trade union will hold talks with President Peter Pellegrini on Friday (November 15) morning. The President Office's communication department confirmed the information for TASR as well. "We discussed the possibilities of financing. We came up with a demand of 10 percent as of January. The state secretary took this as the first negotiation, there will be more meetings. We haven't received a promise as to whether or not there will be the increase," noted Ondek, adding that they will be more specific after the next talks at the Finance Ministry. The school trade union pointed to the need to boost teachers' motivation through better financial remuneration. It also called for higher pay for non-teaching staff, emphasising that schools cannot function without these workers. It didn't rule out protests if an agreement isn't reached. As a last resort, it claimed it is considering a strike. ko/mcs