The Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) stated that, meeting the requirements of teachers agreed upon before the planned strike in September of this year, the government supported funding of nearly €60 million in 2023 and more than €60,000 in 2024 and beyond.
The amendments have been approved with a view to balancing workload and pay for teachers across all levels of education.
As from January 1, 2023, the minimum wage rate before tax will be EUR 1070 for pre-primary education teachers. For general primary and general secondary education teachers starting September 1, 2023, the lowest monthly salary rate is increased to EUR 1080, determining a 36-hour working week.
A workload of 1320 hours per year has been specified for teachers of vocational education institutions, balancing contact hours and other teacher duties. The approved amendments provide for additional funding of 11% compared to the 2022 salary grant for vocational education teachers.
For professional orientation teachers, the workload remains for 30 hours per week, of which 4 hours are intended to prepare for classes and other duties.
In autumn, the Latvian Education and Science Workers' Trade Union (LIZDA) announced its intention to organize a teachers' strike, expressing dissatisfaction with the unbalanced load in their jobs and demanding respect for predefined teacher pay principles. The government sought to agree with LIZDA so that the strike didn't take place, and made promises not only on wages and loads but also committed to imposing an obligation on the next government to develop and approve a schedule of teacher payroll increases for medium-term budget planning.
