Amendments to Teachers' Charter prove controversial

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In autumn 2003, the Polish government proposed a number of amendments to the Teachers' Charter, the statute defining the rights and duties of some 550,000 teaching personnel working in the national educational system, which covers matters such as the terms of remuneration, working time, promotion and retirement benefits. The government's proposals have met with many reservations on the part of trade unions and local government bodies.

The Teachers' Charter (Karta Nauczyciela) is a statute regulating the rights and duties of all teaching personnel employed in the Polish educational system, covering:

• the duties of teachers;

• the required qualifications;

• professional advancement paths;

• rules governing the establishment, amendment, and termination of the employment relationship;

• pay and employment terms;

• the scope of social benefit and vacation/leave entitlements;

• conditions for continued professional development;

• additional healthcare benefits; and

• retirement entitlements.

The original version of the Charter was enacted in 1982. Compared with the document preceding it, the 1972 Charter of Teacher Rights and Duties, it improved the social and economic status of the teaching profession, bringing the remuneration of teachers in line with that of engineering and technical staff (under the standard classifications applied in Poland’s centrally planned economy of the time) and providing for its annual adjustment. The new Charter also reduced the number of teaching hours, introduced bonuses for older teachers, implemented advantageous retirement entitlements, regulated the granting of awards and distinctions, and addressed social issues and leave entitlements. Furthermore, the Charter elaborated on the qualifications required of teachers and on the terms for their recruitment and dismissal. At present, the Teachers' Charter covers approximately 550,000 employees of various educational institutions.

Since its adoption, the Teachers' Charter has undergone numerous amendments, with every change vocally opposed, especially by the trade unions, which regard the Teachers' Charter as essentially a multi-employer collective agreement for the profession. The most important changes to the Charter to date related to the implementation of an educational reform in late 1999 and early 2000, which entailed the shifting of financial responsibility for schools and for their personnel from the national administration to local government. The central administration retained some of its decision-making powers as regards teachers' pay, but a certain degree of decentralisation also occurred in this area. In 2001, the Polish Teaching Union (Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego, ZNP), the largest union for educational employees, led a successful drive for amendment of the Teachers' Charter, collecting some 600,000 signatures in support of its proposals. Under ZNP's proposed legislation, the Minister of National Education and Sports would be obliged to define not only the minimum basic salary for teaching staff, but also the minimum value of bonuses and other additions - at present, the value of most extra payments is calculated as a percentage of the basic salary, with two specific bonuses (the incentive bonus and the position bonus) decided upon by the relevant local government body. The proposed changes would mean a return to the centralisation of payroll decisions. Other changes under this 'civic initiative' include a shortening of the promotion process.

These 'civic' amendments to the Teachers' Charter were approved in 2001, but have yet to come into force. On two separate occasions, the lower chamber of parliament has postponed the date of their effective implementation by one year, first from 1 January 2002 to 1 January 2003, and then to the same date in 2004. During this period, the government has unveiled its own proposals for amendments to the Teachers’ Charter, due to come into force on 1 January 2004. This set of suggestions, providing for a reduction in vacation benefits, lower remuneration for ad hoc substitutions and a lengthier promotion process departs materially from employee expectations in these areas. The trade unions have not been very receptive to the government’s explanations that savings are necessary, and have put up determined resistance to the proposals. In September 2003, a round of negotiations was held between the government and the teachers’ unions, with the result that the government withdrew many of its proposals. The questions of teachers' earnings and the central definition of employment standards, however, remain undecided; both parties have, in principle, expressed their willingness for further negotiations.

The government's amendments to the Teachers’ Charter are also opposed by local government bodies. They believe that the centralisation of decision-making with respect to teachers' pay will create two major points of friction, between local government bodies and the minister charged with education, as well as between the teachers themselves and local governments. Conflicts between the local administrations and the ministry may arise in the context of calculating the educational subsidy earmarked for teachers' pay - the former may allege that the minister has failed to take due account of the unique situation prevailing in their given localities, even though local government representatives themselves acknowledge that such cases are not likely to be frequent. Conflicts in relations between teachers and the local authorities, meanwhile, may flare up if the rates set by the ministry are lower than the ones previously in force - under such circumstances, the teachers may well demand a top-up benefit so as to prevent a decrease in their earnings.

The problems of local government units will be lessened by the fact that the availability of funds for teachers' salaries is guaranteed, as these funds will come from the educational subsidy rather than out of the state budget proper, thus making for increased predictability. The controversies persisting between the government and the trade unions, meanwhile, are potentially more dangerous. The Teachers’ Charter is an important element shaping employment relations in the field of education, and it regulates the employment terms of many thousands of public sector workers. It is equally important to education employees and to the public administration in its capacity as the direct as well as indirect 'paymaster' of education in Poland.

Commentators believe that there is some merit to the government’s argument that savings are called for and that, accordingly, the social benefits of some professional groups – such as teachers – ought to be scaled back. There remains, however, the question of whether the educational system is the best place to seek such savings, especially given that it is possible that the surplus funds thus secured may be devoted to subsidising more 'militantly minded' sectors, such as coal mining (PL0310103F) or the defence industry (PL0309107F).