Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, said Hungary received the "written guarantee" expected from the European Commission on Wednesday. So school and kindergarten teachers will receive the planned 32.2% wage hike.
Gulyás told MTI that the wages of vocational school employees will also be raised, from government coffers. The raises will be in effect from January 1, he added. The hike will raise teachers’ wages to 71.8% of the average wage of degree holders. Hungary’s commitment to raise their salaries to 80% of that will be achieved by a planned raise of 21% at the beginning of 2025, he added. The EU funds, 530 million euros, will cover 12% of the raise until 2030. The measure will impact some 140,000 people, Gulyás said. In an interview with commercial ATV, Gulyás said at the end of December that the government was working to ensure that teachers’ pay rise by 32% on Jan 1. Accordingly, the government has published decrees with the wage details for social consultation, Gulyás said. Earlier this month, two trade unions urged that the government’s recent plans to raise teachers’ salaries should be rolled out to staff in vocational training and in higher education. They warned that introducing a hike “without applying uniform principles” would lead to tension within the profession.