It’s strange: not the Orbán cabinet, but the EU supports Hungarian wage rise for teachers

The European Union is providing 5 million forints (EUR 12,000) per teacher to support their wage increases until 2030, the European Commission’s Hungarian representative said on Tuesday.
The statement said that the EU is paying 1.8 billion euros to support the wage rise between 2024 and 2030, and this means that the average wage of teachers will be maintained at 80 percent of the average graduate wage. The ultimate aim of the salary program is to enhance the attractiveness of the profession and improve quality and access to education, adding that thanks to the wage increase launched in January, their pay now reaches 80 percent of the average wage of university graduates in Hungary. The government and EU have agreed that this level should be maintained until December 31, 2030.
Country reports from the European Commission and country-specific recommendations from the Council of the European Union repeatedly highlight the growing problem of teacher shortages, one of the reasons for which is low wages, they said.
In this context, they said, the average wage of teachers in Hungary has been around 60 percent of the average wage of graduates, as against 90 percent in the EU.
“An attractive teaching profession is essential for a high-quality education system, and this can only be achieved with adequate salaries.” – they said.
They recalled that Hungary and the European Union agreed in 2022 on minimum conditions for a permanent pay rise to make the teaching profession more attractive.
They added that the necessary dialogue with teachers’ unions is also part of improving the quality of education and is, therefore, also part of the agreement between Hungary and the European Union.
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Now for the really cynical (but unsurprising) bit of Mr. Orbán claiming credit for the teacher wage increase and weaving it into his “HUF 1´000´000 minimum wage” speeches and interview points. With a little undisclosed assistance from the European Union. “Brussels!”