Estonian education minister: no room in budget for teacher pay rise

Estonia's Education Ministry has told trade unions there is no space in the current state budget for a teacher salary increase, saying any raise would require cuts elsewhere. In response, the Education Workers' Union warned that teachers are prepared to stage work stoppages.

Education Minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) explained that revenue from economic growth is already absorbed by previously indexed expenses such as pensions and defense spending, making it extremely difficult to find extra money for education. A salary increase, she said, could only happen if funds were taken from another area.

Kallas does not consider realistic the union's demand to raise the minimum teacher salary next year to the national average of €2,312, noting most Estonians do not earn the average wage, even while acknowledging teachers' work brings strong value to society.

She also pointed to teachers' growing workload, worsened by a rising number of students with special needs. Recent PISA results show Estonia has Europe's lowest student-teacher ratio and many small high schools consuming a large share of education funding. Due to demographic shifts, the number of children starting school will drop by 3,000 annually from 2028, reducing per-capita funding municipalities use for teacher salaries.

Teachers seek long-term certainty

Union representative Reemo Voltri stressed that budget difficulties must not compromise education quality. Teachers' minimum expectation, he said, is a €2,300 minimum salary or fulfillment of the pre-election pledge to keep the average teacher salary at 120 percent of the national average. Voltri warned that a continued relative decline in teacher pay sends an alarming signal about how the profession is valued and risks lowering education quality.

Teachers are open to compromise and would accept a smaller raise if the budget strategy provided long-term certainty on fulfilling promises, but would not accept a relative pay decline. Voltri recalled that the previous strike secured a €71 raise even when an increase seemed impossible, and noted a demonstration by education workers is planned in front of the Riigikogu on 14 September, with further work stoppages not ruled out.

Municipalities face tough choices

Randar Lohu, head of the financial service of Saku municipality, said a sharp national increase in the minimum teacher salary pressures local governments over other employees' pay. Teachers in Saku already earn €2,400–€2,500 gross, above the national average, but ongoing national pressure demands extra resources that could leave roughly 650 other municipal employees without a raise. Municipalities are awaiting clearer figures from state budget negotiations expected later this month, with another meeting between education workers, state and municipal representatives set for two weeks from now.