Threats to disobedient teachers: "You have to stay at work until three"

"It doesn't matter that you don't teach classes, you have to come at eight and stay at work until three."

This is how the director of the school in one of the largest villages in Serbia threatened the teaching staff, Serbian teacher Dejan (name changed at his request) told Vreme.

Since when Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic put a "period" on negotiations with educators and personally threatened the disobedient, the school principals "have calmed down a bit and no longer openly threaten those who do not want to start working on January 20, but try to circumvent everything they can".

This is just one of many examples of pressure on teachers. Threats are also made through other teachers, but they also give a carrot - that if they are obedient from now on, disciplinary proceedings will be suspended against all those who have been "disobedient" so far.

Are you on strike? Here's two more hours

"The situation is a bit tragicomic, the director has been saying until now - 'hello people, you will all be fired because of the strike' and waving some papers about dismissal", says Dejan. "Now, it seems, they have received directives not to threaten us, so he is trying to intimidate us because, please, instead of 8 a.m. to 12-13 p.m., we will stay at work until three."

The message, Dejan thinks, is benign at first glance, but for many employees at school, two hours longer is a big problem because they have children, elderly people at home to take care of, and other obligations. This creates a situation where it is easier for teachers to hold classes and be free earlier, than not to hold classes and have to stay at school two hours longer.

For several days, he adds, the director has been asking them for a detailed new work plan, even though Dejan has been working at the school for 15 years and has long since submitted all the documentation. In previous years, he says, the plan was not even mentioned.

As a member of the trade union, Dejan is "in some way" protected. But out of 40 employees in his school, only seven of them are in the union.

"The rest, the little ones, have no one to watch their backs, and I see that the Prime Minister has singled them out," he adds.

Dejan still doesn't know if he will start teaching on January 20, because the director didn't want to schedule anything, no hearing session.

"As everything is going, we probably will, but with great dissatisfaction."

The teachers, he says, are heard through the Viber group, but many do not even advertise because "they are not sure who is passing it on."

Disciplinary procedure

Nataša Zec is a teacher at the elementary school "Triva Vitasovic Lebarnik" in Laćark near Sremska Mitrovica.

She was the principal of this school, but she is got fired when she became politically active a few years ago and was on the opposition list of councilors of the Citizens' Group "City for All of Us", which won 21 mandates in the Sremska Mitrovica Municipal Assembly in the elections held on June 2020, 11.

She told "Vreme" that, although she is a member of the representative trade union, no one had asked her opinion in the previous days whether she was in favor of suspending the strike and starting work on January 20.

"Literally nobody called us," she says. "They took us educators from the government as an excellent bait to try to calm down all that is happening, and it is our fault that we fall for it because we do not have the strength."

Before that, the practice was that teachers were asked to send a message if they were in favor of a strike, and many avoided doing so because then it would be known - if they did not agree to an agreement with the state.

"I proposed that the vote be secret, but it was not adopted," says Zec.

"A story began to circulate among the teachers that everything will calm down if we start working and that they will stop any disciplinary proceedings that exist against anyone. It's like a concession to those who had problems."

On the other hand, threats are now coming through other teachers, there is a rumor that "new disciplinary procedures will be launched against those who strike."

What did Vučević say?

Prime Minister Vučević stated that the second semester in primary and secondary schools begins on January 20, and that the deadline for concluding grades from the first semester, which ended earlier by the Government's decision, has been extended until January 24 or 25.

"My message regarding education: the second semester begins on January 20, period!" We have extended the deadline for concluding grades until January 24 or 25. He can wrap up the grades, he won't insist until January 20th, that's part of the deal. They have enough time to conclude the grades, we are talking about the first semester, so that is enough," Vucevic told reporters during a visit to the hospital in Vranje.

At the fireworks, those without union protection

Speaking about the strike announcements in some schools, Vucevic said that everyone who violates the law and does not enjoy the support and protection of the trade union will bear the consequences.

"They are very simple things, they are public schools. "My message to students and parents, so that you would not be bombarded through the media due to pressure by those who invent various things: Schools are starting to work, that is, the school year for the entire Republic of Serbia begins on January 20," said the Prime Minister.

The president of the Independent Union of Educational Workers of Serbia, Dušan Kokot, confirms for "Vreme" that workers who are not in the union are the most exposed to pressure, as well as that they have no one to protect them in the event of a dispute with their employer.

What did the government agree with the trade unions?

"The first salary increase for employees will be in March, five percent, then in October, five percent, and in January 2026, seven percent." Through the October salary this year, educators will have a starting salary at the level of the national average. This is a historic increase. We made a joint decision that this is the best agreement for everyone," said Vucevic.

Changes to the regulation on coefficients, as he stated, will also include teachers in preschool institutions. He said there would be "rapid resumption of discussions" with unions about higher education institutions.

Vučević also said that discussions are continuing on the conclusion of the collective agreement of educators, which expires at the beginning of March this year.

Where is the problem?

The teachers, at the beginning of the strike, which started half a year ago, zdemanded that salaries be immediately equalized with the national average, and that was their basic demand.

With the salary increases promised by the state, the average teacher salary will reach the national average at some point, but will already be below this level next month.

The unions that reached an agreement with the state said that the government promised them to equalize the average salary in the country with theirs in the next three years.