Education workers‘ unions in Serbia have agreed to continue talks with the government and put their strike on hold. The strike, which started in November, will be suspended from January 20.
The unions want better pay and working conditions for teachers. They are negotiating changes to a special agreement that covers secondary schools. This includes making it easier for teachers without enough work to get more hours within the same school.
Union leader Martin Mihailovic explained their demands. He said they want teachers who don’t have full workloads at one institution to be able to get more hours easily, and for their salaries to match the national average.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic met with education unions on Wednesday. The government wants to give teachers two 5% raises this year, in March and October.