WAGES WILL NOT RISE IN JANUARY

According to the pay offer sent to trade unions by the government the wages of public-sector employees will not rise from January.

It turns out from the document that they plan to raise wages from September 1, 2006 by 4.5 pc. The trade unions find this offer unacceptable. The Ministry of Education claims they are ready for the talks but there is no money anyway. Gábor Kerpen, chairman of the Democratic Union of Teachers criticized the offer claiming that at least a raise of 10 pc would be necessary just to keep wages on level. László Varga, chairman of the Trade Union of Teachers has also expressed his dissatisfaction with the offer.

Translated by Péter Szentmihályi Szabó