The President of the Education Union, Rrahman Jasharaj, stated that one of their main demands is a salary increase.
In an interview, Jasharaj said the Union is ready for dialogue with the Government, but also prepared for union actions, including the possibility of a strike.
“We have no one to dialogue with, we don’t even have a government. According to the Law on Union Organization and the Law on Strikes, dialogue must be attempted first. If dialogue brings no results, then union actions must follow. SBASHK is prepared for both – dialogue and union actions – but is waiting for the formation of institutions, namely the Government, specifically the Ministry of Education. The most urgent issue is the collective agreement, since neither we nor other sectors have one. The Law on Labor stipulates that a collective agreement must be signed every three years. In this situation, we are among the rare cases in Kosovo where there is no collective agreement, no dialogue, and no contract,” said Jasharaj.
Among the main demands of the Education Union are higher salaries, better school conditions, and timely provision of school textbooks from grades one to nine.
“Once institutions are functional, the collective agreement will be a priority, signed between us and the Ministry of Education. It is normal to demand higher salaries, as we have fallen behind our colleagues in Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania. We will insist on better working conditions, because under current conditions teachers cannot achieve desired goals. Teachers are committed, but without proper facilities, objectives remain unattainable. The government and the state must allocate funds so that we have schools of the 21st century, not schools of past centuries with chalk and blackboards, and textbooks that are consistently delayed,” he added.
Jasharaj emphasized that institutions must do more so that schools in Kosovo meet 21st-century standards.
“We will work with the new ministry to ensure textbooks are prepared in advance and available in the first week of September. We need new textbooks for all students, from grade one to grade nine. If we cannot provide laptops for students, at the very least, we must provide new textbooks,” Jasharaj concluded.
