RIGA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The minimum monthly wage of teachers in Latvia will increase by 40 euros (44.80 U.S. dollars) as of this September, the government decided on Tuesday.
However, there is still no certainty about next year, as money has only been earmarked for this purpose in the 2019 budget, local media reported.
Therefore the Latvian teachers' trade union is not dropping its plan yet to call a strike this autumn as teachers fear the wage increase may disappear next year.
"The decision has only been taken on a pay rise from September to December. In the next couple of weeks, the government plans to hold discussions on financing for teachers' wages in 2020," trade union leader Inga Vanaga said, adding that the future of the pay rise depends on an agreement the government has yet to reach.
On Tuesday, the government decided to increase the minimum monthly wage of teachers to 750 euros from 710 euros, approving the allocation of 7.66 million euros for this purpose in this year's budget.
However, another 23 million euros will be needed for the wage hike to continue in 2020. Finance Minister Janis Reirs said this allocation would be considered during the drafting of Latvia's 2020 budget.
In March, around 2,000 teachers staged a protest rally in Riga after the government refused to include the pay rise in the country's 2019 budget, saying it was necessary to reform the inefficient education system and school network. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollar)
