2024-03-09 09:30:07
An annex to the municipal Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) for the system of school and preschool education was signed by the Mayor of Sofia, Vasil Terziev, and the social partners in the field of education. This was announced on the website of the municipal administration.
Mayor Vasil Terziev indicated that topics related to education are top priorities for him and his team. “We must work in such a way as to give the best education to the children in Sofia and build on the development of human potential,” Terziev believes.
One of the key agreements reached with the Annex is an increase in the amount of individual basic wages by 8.4%, starting from January 1, 2024. Investments in education are very important and the municipality will be active in this regard and as a role in the dialogue with the state, the mayor also pointed out. Terziev explained that as an employer he knows how important it is to have a good work system and fair remuneration for people’s work. That is why the signing of the Annex to the KTD is an important step in this direction, he believes.
The trade unions and employers’ organizations have expressed their willingness to constructively partner with the Metropolitan Municipality in the implementation of the municipal policies for education, to point out the problems on the ground and to assist in solving them, the municipal administration indicated.
“Social dialogue and trust are extremely important,” emphasized Yanka Takeva. She commented that, in addition to the dialogue with the social partners, calmness is needed in the education system. Education faces a number of challenges, such as the transformation related to digitization and artificial intelligence, which requires adequate training and permanent qualification of teachers, the chairman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union (SBU) also pointed out.
After the increase, the starting minimum basic salary for teachers becomes BGN 1,853, the Municipality explained and added that the amount is the same for all other pedagogical specialists – resource teachers, educators, heads of the “Information and Communication Technologies” department, speech therapists, psychologists, pedagogical counselors, tutors, choreographers, hearing and speech rehabilitators and sports coaches in schools and kindergartens.
The minimum basic salary for senior teachers and senior educators becomes BGN 1,911, and for head teachers and head educators – BGN 1,985. Principals will receive at least BGN 2,257 basic remuneration, and deputy principals – BGN 2,088, it says BTA.
Special attention is paid to the position of “Assistant educator” with a certificate of professional qualification – no less than 132 percent of the minimum wage. The Annex also stipulates an increase in the additional remuneration of pedagogical specialists: lecture hours, for professional a qualifying scientific degree, for maintaining mandatory documentation, for working under specific working conditions, for conducting additional training for children and students, the means for representative and work clothing, etc.
The document was signed by the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality, Vasil Terziev, Doctor of Economics. Yanka Takeva – chairperson of the Union of Bulgarian Teachers (SBU) at the KNSB, Petya Yosifova – vice-chairperson of the Metropolitan Organization of the Union of Heads of the Public Education System in Bulgaria (SRSNPB), Ivanka Harbalieva – chairperson of the Municipal Section Sofia-city of The Association of Principals in Secondary Education in the Republic of Bulgaria (SDSORB), Milena Mavrodieva, Chairwoman of the RSO Sofia-city at the KT “Podkrepa” – Trade Union “Education” at the Confederation of Labor “Podkrepa” and Maya Zhelyazkova, Chairwoman of the OCS of the NUS Sofia-city – Independent teachers’ union to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria.