Almost two months after the end of the summer break, all schools in Bulgaria opened their doors for their students, ending one of the longest and largest strikes in the countrys history.
November 7 was the day when all teaching staff agreed to go back to work. Apart from the large scale of the strike, which blocked central Sofia for two days (on October 11 and October 18, when massive protest rallies were held), the strike will be remembered for another reason. It ended without a signed agreement between the two sides, the Government and the teachers trade unions, even though for more than a month trade union leaders had been threatening that the strike would continue until a formal agreement was reached.
The final offer the Government presented to trade unions was for an 18 per cent increase of the salaries of everyone employed in the education sector as of November 1 this year. An additional gradual increase of salaries in January and July next year was also proposed. The aim was for the teachers to have an average gross salary of 650 leva a month as of July 1 next year, with the starting salary for a young and inexperienced teacher reaching 450 leva. The maximum salary that a teacher with years of experience and additional qualifications will get is to be 785 leva a month. The unified standard of cost per student will be increased from the current 933 leva to 1151 leva from next year. All of this did not come as a result of negotiations and a subsequent agreement, but was simply included by the Government in the draft Budget 2008, sent to Parliament on October 31 for approval. Once adopted by MPs, no changes to teachers salaries in 2008 may be made.
The Governments proposals were not accepted by trade unions two weeks ago, when Education Minister Daniel Vulchev presented them. At the time, trade union leaders including Bulgarian Teachers Union (BTU) leader Yanka Takeva called the suggestion unacceptable.
Although some of the teachers in places called for the strike to be ended, Takeva insisted on continuing it. With the draft Budget sent to Parliament, Takeva and the rest of the trade unions had no other option but to declare the provisions in it as their victory.
According to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), which includes BTU, the strike was a success because it threw a stone in the mud called Bulgarian education and showed the frustration of the humiliated teacher, the unsatisfied parent and the worried student. CITUB said that although the strike did not end with an agreement, the provisions in the draft Budget for 2008 happened because of the strike.
Teachers at Kolyo Ficheto High School in Varna on the Black Sea coast did not share CITUBs opinion. At a November 6 news conference, teachers blamed the trade unions for the failure of the strike. Teachers said unions had buckled under the pressure imposed on them by the Government, and the original demands for an average gross salary of were not met. They expressed suspicion that there had been some secret agreements between trade unions and the Government. With the draft Budget sent to Parliament, all that teachers could do for the moment is work out a new teaching plan for the rest of the year in order to compensate for the lost time during the 40-day strike.
