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Increase in teachers’ salaries by 7.8 percent. Comments by Alicja Defratyki, Sławomir Broniarz, Adrianna Całus-Polak

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After the increase in the minimum wage, there are teachers who earn less than it is and therefore must receive a supplementary allowance, said Sławomir Broniarz, president of the ZNP on Thursday. The Ministry replies that the average salary of teachers will increase by 7.8 percent, and the basic salary will also be increased. – You can earn more on the discount cash register than a teacher with 20 years of professional experience – commented economist Alicja Defratyka.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Polish Teachers’ Union Sławomir Broniarz informed that after raising the height from January 1, 2023 minimum wage up to PLN 3,490, there are teachers who earn less than the national minimum and therefore must receive a supplementary allowance. He explained that these were beginner teachers and some appointed teachers (without teaching qualifications).

The head of the ZNP stated that this is “an illustration of how the government, how Ministry of Education and Sciencetreats the teaching environment.” – It is something absolutely unimaginable and unacceptable for a young person with the prospect of taking up a job at school, aware that he goes to work earning less than the minimum wage, earning less than he will earn administrative or service staff in this school – he assessed.

The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education and Science, Adrianna Całus-Polak, who was asked by PAP to comment on this statement, pointed to the budget act passed by the Sejm in December for 2023, which is awaiting consideration by the Senate. She explained that it provides for an increase in the base amount for teachers from January 1, 2023 – Due to the change in the base amount average salary teachers will increase by 7.8 percent. compared to the remuneration applicable from September 1, 2022, she informed.

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She added that as the average salary of teachers increases, the minimum wage will also increase basic salary teachers and allowances depending on the basic salary.

Teachers in Poland are underrated

Alicja Defratyka, economist, author of the interestingliczby.pl project, published on Twitter a list of salaries of teachers and employees of cash registers in discount stores as of January 3, 2023. In an interview with TVN24 Biznes, she explained that she wanted to show that “the situation in the education system is dramatic”.

– I wanted to show how underestimated teachers are in Poland. How little they earn in relation to such professions, which were previously considered not very prestigious for many years. In the past, children were even scared that if they didn’t study, they would end up at the cash register in the store. Now we can see that you can earn more on this discount cash register than a teacher who has 20 years of professional experience, a master’s degree and all possible professional degrees, she explained.

According to the latest Lidl announcement, from January 2023, the rates for novice store employees will be even higher – from PLN 4,200 gross to PLN 5,150 gross.

Salary close to the minimum

The economist added that she had been publishing teacher salary statements since 2007. – Their earnings in recent years have come very close to the minimum wage. While in 2007 the salary of a certified teacher was even more than twice as high as the minimum wage, in 2022 it was only 40 percent higher. And the salary of a contact teacher practically equaled the minimum wage, she reported.

Internet users, as Defratyka points out, comment on the low salaries of teachers, citing the argument that “after all, teachers can make extra money”. – At the cash register, a discount employee can also work overtime or earn extra money in another job. Most people can go this way. However, this is not the point, because we are talking here about the basis we receive for our work, and not that we can earn some extra money working at night – Alicja Defratyka replied.

She also noted in the conversation that “sometimes you hear comments that teachers earn too much because they only work 18 hours a week.”

– This is a myth that needs to be debunked, because 18 hours applies to so-called blackboard work. The work of a teacher is not only about the work spent in the classroom, but also about preparing, finding materials, checking homework, tests, and this requires many hours of work. Just like the work of an athlete is not only that he is paid only for playing one match, starting in one competition, but that he prepares and trains every day – she explained.

She added, describing the situation in the education system, that “we have overcrowded classes in schools, there are no teachers, and those who are are paid embarrassingly and even now they are threatened with dismissals.”

– Some teachers will go to the private sector, and there will be no new ones. Who will want to study pedagogy? Sometimes even teenagers start earning more than teachers by running their social media channels, she noted.

Within two or three years, approximately 100,000 jobs will have to be made redundant. teachers – said the Minister of Education and Science Przemysław Czarnek last week on Radio Zet. He added that this is due to a huge demographic decline, especially in secondary schools.

Read more: Czarnek: Within two or three years, 100,000 teachers will have to be made redundant

Who will want to become a teacher?

– I believe that many changes made by PiS can be reversed, but those related to the education system will not be easily reversed. It will not happen so quickly that young people will suddenly want to become teachers in the future from year to year. After all, the process of educating teachers takes years, Alicja Defratyka pointed out.

According to the economist, “even after these increases of 7.8 percent, it will not change much.” – Teachers will continue to earn practically less than on the cash register. This is the absurd situation we’ve come to. In the long run, the education system will collapse, as everything will continue to look like this in Poland. Teachers may change their profession, but who will teach our children? she asked.

Read also: Increases in a large network. Earnings are reported

Main photo source: Shutterstock



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