After 24 days of strike and protest rallies, trade unions and the Government agreed on October 17 on an increase in teachers’ salaries.

After a meeting between trade unions and Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the two sides agreed that the average gross wage of teachers would be increased to 650 leva.

According to trade unions, the current average teacher salary in secondary education sector is 360 leva while the Finance Ministry says the figure is 470 leva. The increase is to be implemented gradually by July 1 next year in three steps, with the first in November this year. Salaries of non-teaching staff will also be increased. The money for the increase is to come from Education Ministry savings. Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski, who attended the meeting, told journalists that talks had focused on a thorough reform of the model of funding of education. This meant that legislation would be changed to provide that school headmasters would have their own budgets and the discretion to use them as they choose. Currently most schools around the country are owned by municipalities, while the money that schools get comes from the state budget and schools have no say in how the money is spent.

Oresharski said that the money allocated by the state for the annual allowance of a student would be increased from the current 900 leva to1100 leva. Stanishev and Oresharski said that they hoped teachers would return to their classrooms on October 22, six days before the municipal elections. Despite Stanishev’s hopes, trade unions decided not to cancel a second protest rally in Sofia scheduled for Ocotber 18. The first rally, on October 11, brought together hundreds of thousands of teachers from all over Bulgaria. The protesters marched between Parliament and the Cabinet building in one of Bulgaria’s largest-ever demonstrations. The trade unions said that they would review Stanishev’s proposal on October 19. Nothing was said about going back to school on October 22. If teachers do go back, it could be a boost for Stanishev given that October 22 has been set as the date on which Parliament will debate a motion of no confidence in the Government. The motion was submitted by a group of right-wing opposition parties. Ekaterina Mihailova of the Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria said that the motion was tabled because of the Government’s education policy and the ongoing teachers’ strike. Political analysts say that with a disciplined and loyal majority behind him, Stanishev has scant reason to worry, but the no-confidence vote supported by the entire opposition could influence the municipal elections. The motion will be put to the vote on October 23.

Meanwhile, teachers have started raising voices about the meaning of a long and ongoing strike. Evidence of their concern was an October 14 statement by Konstantin Trenchev, leader of Podkrepa, one of the major trade unions, appealing to directors of commercial banks to postpone the repayments of loans taken by teachers. According to the law, teachers get no pay for days on strike. Banks responded that the strike was a political issue and agreeing to Trenchev’s request would be unfair to the banks’ other clients. This resulted in school boards of three Sofia schools, Stefan Karadja, Alexader Pushkin and Vladislav Gramtik, saying that they were considering court action against Education Minister Daniel Vulchev for missed opportunities.