Teachers across Serbia were shocked by the reduction in their February salary, with some only receiving a few hundred dinars. Lawyers claim that there is no law that would allow a complete suspension of salary payments
Educators who are on strike they received a reduced first part of their February salary - some had 10.000 dinars, some 900, and some not even that much. While the Ministry of Education insists that it is okay to pay less to those who did not fulfill their work obligations, lawyers see a number of legal problems in this measure. Only one of them is that there is no law on the basis of which the employer can refuse to pay the entire salary to his employee, writes Dunja Marić in The new economy.
Teachers throughout Serbia have been on strike since January. A few days ago, they received their February salary - but it was reduced. The question of the legality of the reduction of their salaries, due to which some did not receive even a dinar, and some did not receive an amount they could not live on, immediately arose.
Mario Reljanović, an expert in labor law and the president of the Center for Decent Work, explains to Nova Ekonomi first of all that the educators are not on strike, but on suspension of work. Therefore, the Law on Strike cannot be applied in this case.
"The Ministry of Education said that they would be paid as much as they worked, but that thesis is simply not true. The teachers were at their workplaces, some of them, for example, were giving preparatory classes to high school graduates, some were performing their other, non-teaching tasks, but all of them were at work. Therefore, the thesis that someone didn't get paid because he didn't work is meaningless," says Reljanović.
Our interlocutor explains that there is actually no law that would allow an employer to simply not pay an employee his entire salary.
"Legally, they should not receive reduced wages, but dismissal, because that is the measure that is taken when an employee does not come to work." Possibly, if there is another solution, it is a reduction of earnings of 20 to 30 percent, no more than that. Of course, I'm not advocating that educators get fired, nor is it the goal of the Ministry, but this kind of salary calculation is illegal," says Reljanović.
He also emphasizes that there are school principals who wanted all employees to be paid their full wages, so they filled out reports on working hours accordingly. However, the Ministry of Education sent such reports back for re-filling.
Reimbursement for lessons will be paid
The classes will have to be made up at some point, which the educators have no problem with, but - the law does. Namely, as Reljanović explains for New Economy, educators receive a 30 percent incentive for the increased number of hours they teach. On the other hand, the Ministry of Education announces that, when compensation takes place, teachers will be paid what they are not now, in full.
However, educators don't actually have to make up for teaching, given that they are now unpaid.
"If they do that, they will not be in a worse legal situation than they are now." However, I believe that the goal of the Ministry is to completely exhaust them financially, for educators to give up the suspension of work because they still have to live on something", says Reljanović and adds that he still believes that a solution will be found to compensate for teaching.
Lawyer Danijel Dinčić also believes that it will not happen that students will be deprived of classes.
"A lesson compensation plan will be created, according to the Government's idea, so that it will not happen that classes are not compensated," says Dinčić for Nova Ekonomija.
A form of pressure on education
The public, educators, and experts see such a decision by the Government as pressure.
"I personally believe that this is not the decision of the Ministry of Education, that is, the Government." I believe that this decision was made by one man, we all know who. This is exclusively a type of pressure, which has nothing to do with the law", says Reljanović.
Dušan Kokot, president of the Independent Union of Educators of Serbia, also tells Nova Ekonomiya that it is a form of pressure on teachers.
"Of course, this is a kind of pressure, which at the same time shows why we are in a work stoppage - the boss pays today, tomorrow he doesn't, and the Ministry thinks it can be done that way. It is pressure, but we are used to living with it", says Kokot.
The interlocutor of New Economy says that the union of which he is the president filed criminal charges against the financial advisers of the school administrations, considering that some directors wanted to pay salaries, but the advisers did not approve it. Also, a criminal complaint was filed against Minister Slavica Đukić Dejanović for abuse of official position and inciting a criminal act.
"She says it's pressure now, and I can say it is." So what should we do while they press us? Educators will complain about the salary reduction, and if the money is not paid even on March 21, when they normally receive the second part of their salary, there will be lawsuits," concludes Kokot.
Teachers who did not receive their salary, or received only part of it, can first complain to the School Board, and if they are not satisfied with their decision, then to the court, explains lawyer Danijel Dinčić.
Read more about this topic on the portal New economy.
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