of Bulgaria gathered for the first of their two protest rallies in
Sofia. At the time, teachers were united more than ever
in their demand for a 100 per cent salary increase. On
October 23, their unity seemed shaken as growing numbers of
teachers from various towns and villages returned to
work even though unions insisted they would lead them
to victory.
Photo: Magdalena Rahn
All the teachers at Kolyo Ficheto High School in the Black Sea city of Varna had resigned, Vesselin Rashev, head of the Varna unit of the Bulgarian Teachers Union, was quoted as saying by various Bulgarian-language media on October 24.
According to Rashev, teachers were to resign as of November 1 because they were offended by the way the Government had treated them. Rashev said that teachers from a further 53 schools in Varna were to resign for the same reason.
On October 23, about 93 per cent of the teachers on strike rejected the Government-proposed draft agreement. The agreement provided for an increase of the average gross monthly salary of teaching personnel to 650 leva in the second half of 2008. The reason: the agreement did not mention a further two stages of salary increases and did not specify a rise in pay for non-teaching personnel. The draft agreement provided for an increase of 47 per cent, including the extra monthly salary that teachers receive in three installments during the year. Under the draft, teachers’ starting salary was to rise from 299 leva to 440 leva monthly, and the highest wage, 789 leva, was to be paid to teachers with 25 years of professional experience. The agreement led to contradictory reactions since it was first accepted by the trade unions but later rejected by the teachers themselves.
The rejection meant one thing: the strike that started on September 15 continued, although without massive protest rallies of the kind held on October 11 and October 18 in Sofia. Teachers continued to demand an increase of salaries in three steps by 20 per cent each, which Education Minister Daniel Vulchev has described as “unfeasible”. Vulchev told reporters that the school year might be extended in order to catch up on the time lost, with classes on Saturdays, shorter holidays and longer terms.
Although teachers in Varna were threatening to take more drastic action in their fight for salary increases, other colleagues of theirs have stepped back and left the fight. Reports on commercial national TV channel bTV on October 23 showed that teachers from Petar Beron high school in Priseltsi village just outside Varna had returned to work after 20 days of striking. Teachers told bTV they were sick of the lack of understanding between trade unions and the Government.
“Children are losing valuable time and at the same time we have to pay our bills at the end of the month and the strike has gone too far,” Ivailo Hristov, a teacher of biology and chemistry, told bTV. A further six schools in Varna region have returned to work. Teachers from various schools in Plovdiv, Pazardjik, Sliven, Bourgas and Sofia also went back to work on October 23, citing similar reasons.
While talks seem to be at a dead end, on October 23 the Government headed by Sergei Stanishev scored a predictable political win in Parliament. Parliament rejected a non-confidence vote against the Government. The motion was tabled by the right-wing opposition on the grounds of the teachers’ strike. A total of 61 MPs supported the motion with 160 against and one abstention. This was the third non-confidence motion survived by the Government formed by Stanishev’s Bulgarian Socialist Party, the National Movement for Stability and Progress and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms.
