European Trade Union Committee for Education

According to the education section of NSZZ “Solidarność”, one of ETUCE’s member organisations in Poland, for the first time since 2012 salaries of Polish teachers are going to increase by 1.3% at all education levels, with the exception of higher education, as a result of negotiations with local authorities as well as with members of the Polish government. The commitment to raise salaries followed the dialogue in the frame of the Group for Professional Status of Education Employees, of which NSZZ “Solidarność” is part.

The Group met for the first time in November 2016, other two subsequent meetings took place on 19 December 2016 and 30 January 2017 in Warsaw. The participants to the Group for Professional Status of Education Employees also agreed to schedule regular meetings in the months to come, providing space to further improve the Polish social dialogue in education.

ETUCE and EFEE, the European sectoral social partners in education, organised a social dialogue round table meeting in Warsaw in the frame of the ESSDE Capacity building project II “European Sectorial Social Partners in Education promoting the potentials of their dialogue through knowledge transfer and training” where ETUCE and EFEE met with national education social partners, including representatives from the EI/ETUCE member organisations in Poland (ZNP and NSZZ “Solidarność”), head teachers and local government organisations in September 2015. On that occasion, participants called for an increase in education funding in Poland as well as for an effective social dialogue, which had long been under pressure. They also had the chance to share common challenges and discuss how to address them to relaunch the Polish social dialogue in education.