UPDATE: Most Polish schools not on strike: education ministry
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
08.04.2019 14:10
Most Polish schools have not joined a nationwide strike by teachers, the country’s education ministry said on Monday.
Deputy Education Minister Maciej Kopeć briefs reporters as a nationwide teachers' strike begins in Poland on Monday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
Thousands of schools and kindergartens in Poland were canceling classes as teachers began a nationwide strike over pay on Monday morning.
Unionists have told reporters that nearly 80 percent of educational institutions nationwide have declared they are ready to take part in a protest of unlimited duration.
But the education ministry said on Monday that 48.5 percent of institutions had joined the strike, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Last-ditch talks on Sunday evening led by Deputy Prime Minister Beata Szydło saw the Solidarity trade union agreeing to government proposals. But the offer was deemed insufficient by two other unions pressing for a 30-percent pay hike.
The protest begins just before key exams at various levels of education.
The government has insisted that the exams will take place regardless of whether industrial action breaks out, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency has reported.
The strike leaves working parents across the country facing problems in arranging childcare.
Some employers were telling parents they could bring their children with them to work, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
The Rzeczpospolita daily last month quoted a survey according to which more than six in 10 Poles were against teachers striking at a time of important school exams.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info