Drucker Confident of Reaching Agreement with Education Trade Union

Bratislava, November 15 (TASR) - Following Friday's meeting with representatives of the the Slovak Education and Science Employees Trade Union at the Presidential Palace, Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD) acknowledged the demand for higher salaries in the education sector and expressed confidence that an agreement will be reached in the coming weeks. The minister stated that increasing salaries aligns with the government manifesto, although he noted that the government is not fulfilling it. Drucker reiterated that the ministry will look for internal savings in order to raise salaries. "I've also proposed my ideas for making savings to the Finance Ministry, as to how we can find some type of compromise or solution for 2025, but we need to discuss 2026. Whether that means raising certain taxes for people in order to find those funds or something else, we'll see," he said. The head of the Education Ministry expressed appreciation for how constructive the meeting was and announced that discussions with representatives of the Finance Ministry will continue. In addition to the remuneration of employees in the education sector, he also wants to address other issues, such as the funding of after-school clubs. President Peter Pellegrini met education trade union representatives and the education minister on Friday to discuss the current state of the education sector and union demands, including a 10-percent increase in salaries for all employees in the education sector. The union highlighted that low salaries are contributing to a lack of interest in the teaching profession, and they called for higher pay for non-teaching staff, emphasising that schools cannot function without these workers. tl/df/am