At the meeting of representatives of four representative unions in enlighten and the Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic held on Thursday, educators were offered a salary increase of five percent in March and another five percent in October.
Educators were given 24 hours to respond to that offer.
After the meeting, Vucevic assessed that progress had been made in the negotiations, while the educators stated that they do not know whether the second semester will start on time, on January 20.
Vucevic added that in January 2026, there will be a seven percent increase for educators as well as for others in the public sector.
He stated that with an 11 percent increase in January 2025, two increases in March and October, and an increase in January 2026, teachers will receive a 31 percent salary increase in 13 months.
At the meeting, the Government of Serbia proposed to continue the interrupted negotiations on amendments to the Special Collective Agreement for employees in primary and secondary schools and student dormitories. The meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 10 at the Ministry of Education.
Educators demand the fulfillment of the requirements stated in the Protocol of 2023, which was signed by the then Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, - that the starting salary of teachers with the seventh degree of professional education should be equal to the average national salary.
On the eve of the meeting, the educators stated that they expect the Government to adopt a decree in the first following session, which will adopt their request.
However, Vučević presented a new offer - an increase of five percent in March and another five percent in October.
Union representatives said after the meeting that before responding to Vučević's proposal, they would talk to their members in order to hear their opinions about it.
In front of the Government of Serbia, the representatives of the education unions told the journalists that it was also said at the meeting that there would be no sectoral increase, but that "we will go through the regulation on coefficients".
Union representatives also said that, if the Government's proposal is accepted, it will mean that negotiations on a special collective agreement will be started "where they stopped".
The trade unionists did not know whether to say whether the second semester would start with a strike or a suspension of classes and that the trade unions are conducting a survey about this with their colleagues.
It was stated that the results of that survey will be known next week.
The trade unionists stated that, if they receive the consent of their colleagues next week, they will change the regulation on coefficients at the next session of the Government of Serbia. They also pointed out that they insisted on a systemic solution and that the regulation on coefficients is a systemic solution.
