Probably no one alive knows by what logic the state paid today (March 6). teachers on strike.
Some of them, although they did not work for the whole of February, received a 50-55 percent lower salary, but the amounts differ even for teachers from the same schools who had similar activities, the "Vremena" editorial office has learned. They received the first part between 24.000 and 26.000 dinars on average.
Colleagues from Čačak, a city where there is almost no school in operation, did not receive any salary at all, while the teachers from Novi Sad, who are on suspension, received a total of 1.800 dinars, which is completely inexplicable.
"They seem to have paid at will and selectively cut wages." Čačak is obviously a thorn in their side, because they are all suspended. It's unfair to the end," comments one teacher for "Vreme".
Those who worked part-time, for 30 minutes each, received a 15 percent salary reduction, but there are also examples that in some schools they received - a regular amount like last month.
The state barely managed.
The payment of the salary was preceded by the alleged collapse of the state payment system.
"Salary was denied to everyone in Serbia." They say that the problem is of a technical nature in Spiri. The problem should be solved within the day."
Spiri is an information system that supports all the activities of the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury Department, which is used to manage public finances.
On the morning of March 6, a teacher of a rural school received this message from her principal. All school principals received an official letter from the state about the alleged problem, on the very day when teachers' salaries are due.
"I can't believe what is coming to us from the top of the state!" Unbelievable! We're having a good time, and the party has begun. Really terrible," says the source of Vremena.
What happened in the previous days
The Prime Minister of Serbia resigned Milos Vucevic he said on Tuesday (March 4) that professors, teachers and teachers who did not hold classes will not receive their February salary at all.
"Those who don't work will not get paid," Vučević told Prva television, because if they did, it would "absolutely" not be fair compared to those who worked.
Such an announcement came earlier from the Minister of Education Slavica Djukić Dejanović. She said February wages would depend on whether teachers taught normal 45-minute classes, went on legal strike with 30-minute cut-offs or suspended classes.
Mario Reljanović, an expert in labor law, told "Vreme" that the principle "they didn't work, so they won't get anything" sounds logical, but it is not in accordance with the law.
"The labor law is very imprecise and the whole situation is complicated and does not directly recognize the possibility that teachers do not work at all, but only hold classes of 30 minutes each," Reljanović told "Vreme".
