Wage increases thanks to fruitful social dialogue
External practice
Duration
Ongoing.
Partnership
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance.
Reason it was developed
Teachers suffer from low wages in Armenia. Low wages discourage men from joining the teaching profession and result in it being associated with women’s work, which is often poorly paid and undervalued. In order to enhance the status of the profession, higher salaries were needed.
Activities
Activities included social dialogue, writing letters to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, and contributing to draft government decisions.
Results
After long negotiations, the government promised to raise teachers’ salaries by 10% as from September 2019. Likewise, after lengthy discussions and demands from the trade union, the Ministry of education and Science is currently developing a draft Government Decision to establish a system of minimum wages (according to the ILO Convention 131) in the sphere of Education, meaning that wages will differ depending on the qualification of the workers. A package of proposals for the social partners is planned to be developed in the framework of the Decent Work Programme signed by the social partners.
Funding
Internal trade union's funding.